The politics of wine

THE WINE CLUB

Wine and politics, as they say, make strange bedfellows. It is a truism that anything as "rooted in agriculture" as wine arouses strong passions "" both among the producers (for whom it is a livelihood) as well as among the consumers (who want quality).

Now that interest in wine in India is raising expectations all over, I thought it high time to delve into our third most-favourite preoccupation "" politics (the first two being cricket and filmstars).

Alcoholic beverages being a state subject, the excise departments of all states have formulated their own rules and regulations (and duties and taxes) governing the production, distribution and consumption of anything containing alcohol.

In many states the state excise duties are the single-biggest contributor to the exchequer "" as well as a significant source of cash for those in power and authority. Which is why the state is loath to relinquish control of any aspect of alcoholic beverages "" and it takes a very strong lobby to overcome this inertia.

It is only Maharashtra, where the cooperative movement has been spectacularly successful, that the lobby of grape farmers and wine producers were able to push through a forward-looking Wine Policy in 2001 that has today resulted in some 45 new wineries (and counting); Karnataka is still fooling around with the subject as there is no strong lobby (or, as yet, no one willing to "facilitate" the process).

What all the politicians and bureaucrats lose sight of in seeking to control any industry is that, at the end of the day, it's all about delivering consumer benefit: the best possible product at the least possible cost. Enabling this will wean away an increasing number of people from the rotgut spirits available here and rapidly expand the market for wine "" which will attract more investment in the industry, which in turn will make wines more competitive and deliver more benefit to the consumer...a virtuous spiral where everybody wins!

Of course, the spirit lobby is also strongly opposed to any loosening of controls on wine as they consider this to be the "thin end of the wedge" that could also lead to "" god forbid! "" liberalising beer from the "dead hand of state controls" and a spurt in beer consumption!

Witness what's been happening in Punjab, where beer volumes have doubled this past year after the cartel system was rationalised.

There's no denying that the liberalisation of imports has led to a veritable flood of imported wines being available on retail shelves "" which has stimulated both consumer interest and appreciation as well as investment in producing wines locally.

This despite the customs duties being a crushing 150-250 per cent, the process for importing wines being costly and time-consuming, and the registration and taxation system in most states being a major deterrent to wine imports.

Which is why I have the greatest respect and admiration for all those importers (Brindco, Sonarys, GTF, Mohan Brothers, Sovereign Impex, to name but a few) who have stayed the course and persisted with importing wines despite continuing losses and huge investments.

Their common dream is that at some time in the future our desi business sense will overcome the politics of control, and the wine trade will actually start making some money.

For now, they are content to be in the company of the world's leading wine makers, and to drink some of the world's finest wines at those winemaker dinners you may have heard about.

Sante', Prost, Cheers!

al_chandra@vsnl.net