A century is a milestone in any field. It’s with some astonishment that I find myself penning the one hundredth article on wine for BS — astonishment mainly in that the editor and readers have put up with my sometimes freewheeling ruminations for so long.
In these four years, the world has been through some tumultuous times: global warming has come to stay, and the wine market in India has grown threefold, from about 600,000 cases (including “cheap” wines) in 2004-05 to an expected 1.8 million cases this year. That’s an astonishing jump by any standards given that most Indians still think of wine as something that’s either only for the rich and famous or something that’s a fancy way of getting plastered.
Along the way the numbers of wineries in India have grown from 30 in end-2004 to well over 60, mainly as a result of the new wine policy set out by Maharashtra in 2001. There are also over 100 wine importers, while the total number of labels is probably nearing 2,000.
Another spurt in winery construction will come with the notification of the new wine policy in Karnataka later this month, and the next few years should see some 40 new wineries coming up in that state.
Despite all the well-known problems with wine marketing and distribution, there’s a huge level of interest in the subject.
I expect that quite a few of the newer units would be “boutique” wineries set up either as lifestyle projects by people who are not really looking for commercial returns, or wineries making very small quantities of high quality wines and catering to a select audience.
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And yet it’s still early days for this industry here — total volumes should be anywhere between 12 and 15 million cases in 10 years and nudging 45 million cases in 20. This implies that in 20 years, the area under wine grapes in India would increase from 7,000 to nearly 200,000 acres, and the investment in wine production from around Rs 750 crore to over Rs. 20,000 crore.
What this also implies is that over time, wine in India will become as ubiquitous as “wine shops” (most of which rarely sell the stuff at present), and that (hopefully) wine itself will become better in quality, cheaper in price, and a more widely-accepted libation. Although it is too much to hope that (like in China), the establishment will start using wine at official banquets (maybe if someone brought out Somaras…).
Is it too much to look forward to 1,000 wineries in India? That really depends upon how many other states liberalise their archaic licensing laws regarding the production and distribution of low-alcohol products like wine or beer.
Both Tamil Nadu and Andhra already grow table grapes and the tableland around Periyar in Kerala looks most interesting. All one needs to start a vineyard is land, water and a bit of power, and a small operation need not really invest much in plant and machinery. So, may a thousand vineyards bloom!
Wines I’ve been drinking
Moldovan wines?! I didn’t even know where Moldova was till Avril (the singer) came down with two samples her boyfriend John had sent (poor chap, stuck there). Eastern Europe (Moldova is between Romania and the Ukraine, north of the Caspian Sea) is rumoured to produce lots of cheap wine, and these samples were no exception. Pass.
Ouch!