The ladies' wine: Dia from Sula vineyards

Italian wine producer Bosca partners Sula in the venture.

Winemaker Sula Vineyards, promoted by entrepreneur Rajeev Samant, will launch a wine targeted at women wine drinkers. The product will be out by this week. Named 'Dia', the wine will be available at Rs 180 per bottle.

The wine will have an alcohol content of 8 per cent, as against the normal content of 11 per cent to 14 per cent.

"The wine will be much lighter on the pallet. It will be lightly sparkling and have a slightly sweet flavour. It can be enjoyed as a regular or celebration drink," said Sula CEO Rajeev Samant.

Sula has entered into a joint venture for production of Dia with Italian wine producer, Bosca, which will provide the technical know-how for the offering. Dia will be manufactured at Sula's winery in Nasik.

Bosca is well-known for its 'Asti Spumante' category of wine, which contains herbal extracts, made in Asti region of Italy. Bosca sells Verdi sparkling wine in countries such as Russia, Brazil and so on and Dia will be similar to Verdi in content, Samant says.

In the first year of operations, Sula is planning to manufacture 25,000 cases of Dia.

"In the first year, we will focus on Dia. In the coming years, we can look at other products from the Bosca stable," Samant said.

"We have priced Dia at Rs 180 a bottle. It is a classy product with beautiful packaging to attract urban women who shop at organised retail stores. At this price there is no product available in the market and we thought this is a good offering at this price," said Samant.

Currently, the Indian wine market is estimated at one million cases per year and is expected to grow at 20 per cent annually. Sula alone sells 200,000 cases in a year and enjoys a 24 per cent market share. Now Sula is expecting 30 per cent of its total sales to come from Dia.

Sula is planning a national launch, making the product available at wine and retail stores.

"First we will sell it in the country, and after six months, we will look at exporting it. We are talking with our joint-venture partners regarding this proposition," he said.

Sula Vineyards has raised Rs 45 crore from Indivision India Partners, the consumer industry focused private equity fund of Future Capital Holding, jointly with a group of private investors.

Sula sold 20 per cent stake to the investors. In September 2005, private equity fund GEM India Advisors (GIA) invested Rs 15 crore for around 30 per cent stake in the company.

Sula manufactures different types of wines including red, white, rose, sparkling and dessert.