Where the spirit is freed

Seventy-two years after India gained independence from the British in 1947, wine consumption in the country is still hamstrung by outmoded rules and regulations. These make wines hugely expensive and largely unavailable. A single decent wine shop in Europe would have more wines at better prices than in any store in India.

It’s true that the easing of import restrictions on alcoholic beverages in 2001 paved the way for international wines, along with a flood of spirits and some beers, to become available in most states. However, the 150 per cent basic customs duty and additional excise duties at the state level (which go by inventive names such as “special fee”) make wines two to three times more expensive here compared to overseas. And since earnings in India are a fraction of that in the West, in real terms imported wines are very much more expensive.

Also true is that more Indian wines are available in India today. This is due to sensible wine policies enacted in Maharashtra (2001) and Karnataka (2008) that eased licensing for both the production and sale of wines. However, in both these states, restrictions on purchase of agricultural land ensure that no substantial investment is possible in setting up vineyards — and nobody is going to invest in wine production unless they have some control over the raw material (wine grapes). The result is that you can count the number of Indian wine companies on the fingers of one hand: after Sula, Grover-Zampa and Fratelli, most people would be stymied if asked to name a fourth wine brand.

As a result, wine sales in India are still stuck at around four million cases annually as compared to some 600 million cases of spirits and less than 300 million cases of beer. And while the craft beer movement is changing the dynamics of that beverage, wine is just not receiving anywhere near the same level of investment or interest.

So what’s the solution? To increase demand, you have to make it easier to import or produce wine, as well as make it easier to sell the stuff.

This wine has an intense fruity and floral aroma and an incredible wine-like mouthfeel that makes one go ‘Aha!’

First, change the mindset that brackets wine with spirits. Wine is a low-alcohol product that is farmer-friendly and good for health and as such worth promoting (over spirits). Encourage holding wine fairs for both domestic and imported wines by allowing duty-free import of samples. Local excise authorities should facilitate rather than restrict sampling and marketing.

Next on the agenda should be price. Consumers will always respond to lower prices, so drastically reduce customs duties and state taxes on all wines — consumption is so low anyway it won’t make much difference to revenues. Also reduce state label registration fees to, say, 10 per cent of present levels — this will also encourage the registration of more labels and thus increase competition, which will in turn reduce effective prices.

Finally, allow online marketing and distribution of wines. Why on earth do state excise departments insist on not permitting this? So long as all taxes concerned have been paid, retailers should be allowed to book orders online (or over the phone) and home deliver wines. The ban on using conventional media to market wines also needs to be lifted — after all, wine is by no means “injurious to health”. While nothing is likely to happen in any of these areas in the near future, let’s keep chipping away.

Wines I’ve been drinking: Tenuta Sant’Antonio Scaia Corvina 2015 (~2,171 in Bengaluru) from the Veneto region of north-east Italy that lies near Lake Garda. The corvina grape is the principal constituent of the local wine called Valpolicella and rarely vinified as a single varietal. The wine has an intense fruity and floral aroma and an incredible wine-like mouthfeel that makes one go “Aha!” The bottle also has an unusual glass stopper (neither cork nor screwcap) that is watertight. While I’m not biased towards Italian wines, this one was quite something.

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant