UB plans to roll three more wine brands

Spirits major United Breweries (UB) is planning to beef up its wine business. Baramati Grape Industries, which runs the wine business of the group, will expand its production base by introducing new variety of grapes and rope in more contract farmers.

By increasing the yield of speciality grapes in Baramati and surrounding region, the company is planning to launch three more wine brands in the market.

Baramati Grape has a capacity for crushing 5,000 tonne grapes a year. Once the expansion is complete, it will have almost double the capacity and have over 500 farmers in the supply chain.

The UB group chairman Vijay Mallya said the company is also planning to import bulk wines for introducing new brands in India. For the purpose, the company is already in talks with European wine makers.

"In a year or two, we will have a complete range of wines in our portfolio to cater to different customer segments in India," he said.The company is already present in the domestic wine market with two brands in the premium range - red Bosca Reisling and rose Bosca Reisling.

Bosca, which is manufactured at Baramati Grape Industries, sells over 25,000 cases a year. According to industry estimates, the market is growing at 30 per cent annually and, hence, capacity enhancement is a need from the company's viewpoint.

McDowell & Company, the UB group's flagship spirit entity, has at present tie-ups with three major overseas wine makers for importing bottle-in-origin (BIO) wines. The company is currently selling these brands through its distribution network.

"We are now evaluating the options of import in bulk and bottling in India, which is much more cost-effective," said Mallya."As the bulk import attracts no duty unlike the BIO wines, UB is all set to explore the growing market space for wine in the country as the segment is growing very fast," said a company executive.