 "The third wave (of wine, of course)")
I liken the development of the wine industry in India to the book by Alvin Toffler (the American writer and 'futurist' - he's still around at 85). The Third Wave (1980) is about how civilisation developed in three 'waves': agrarian, industrial, and post-industrial.
In Indian wines the first wave comprised just three wine companies: Indage/Champagne India, Grover Vineyards, and Sula: pioneers who braved bureaucracy and business challenges to establish vineyards and wineries between 1986 and 1999 (remember, this was the heyday of the licence-permit raj). Sula is today the undisputed market leader in India, with Grover a distant second, while Indage wound up in 2009/10.
The second wave was unleashed in 2001 with the relaxation of import restrictions on wines and the subsequent Maharashtra Grape Processing Policy 2003 and the Karnataka Wine Policy 2007 which liberalised licensing for wineries. This led to a boom in wineries being set up - largely by grape farmers and people with an agricultural background - and much indifferent quality wine sloshing around. Predictably, most of the 100-odd wineries of that wave are either closed or mothballed - the few that survive are selling within their state at low prices or high discounts (or both).
The third wave comprises companies and individuals with deep pockets and a better understanding of how to make and market good wines: some have been set up by the liquor majors (Four Seasons by United Spirits, Nine Hills by Seagram), some by people with passion and vision (Fratelli, York, Vallonne & Zampa in Maharashtra and Alpine and Krsma in Karnataka).
Joining the second group is Charosa whose wines were actually launched in Mumbai in 2012 and which is now looking to expand into markets in the north and south as well as overseas. Owner Ajit Gulabchand of HCC got interested in wine following a visit to Italy in the summer of 2004. He started looking at entering the wine industry thereafter - I had made a presentation to him in early 2005, and had even accompanied his daughter, Shalaka, to Nashik to visit some of the wineries there, and going by the reports they've done a great job thereafter.
Charosa Wineries has been set up for the long term: set amidst 230 acres of rolling farmland in the Dindori area north of Nashik, it's one of the two wineries in India to use square open-topped fermenters for their reds (the other is Krsma), which accounts for the excellent colour of their reds.
Their wines are all in custom-made dark green glass bottles with screwcaps - useful and convenient for consumers. I tasted the following wines:
Charosa Vineyards RESERVE Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (Rs 1,500 in Bangalore): Dark red colour, complex fruity aroma, full-bodied mouthfeel with smooth tannins, good finish. Still young, will improve in bottle.
Charosa Vineyards RESERVE Tempranillo 2012 (also Rs 1,500 in Bangalore): Dark red, complex berry aromas, medium+ body, balanced tannins, decent finish. The first Tempranillo in India.
Charosa Vineyards SELECTIONS Shiraz 2012 (Rs 900 in Bangalore): Also a dark red colour, has six months in oak. Fruity aromas with a touch of spice and a medium-bodied mouthfeel with firm tannins. A bit expensive - blame taxes in Karnataka.
Charosa Vineyards SELECTIONS Sauvignon Blanc 2013 (Rs 850 in Bangalore): A surprisingly straw-yellow colour, but with clean lime-lemon aromas and a dry, balanced taste with a bitter finish.
Like the recently-elected Bharatiya Janata Party, hope they also endure - Cheers.
In Indian wines the first wave comprised just three wine companies: Indage/Champagne India, Grover Vineyards, and Sula: pioneers who braved bureaucracy and business challenges to establish vineyards and wineries between 1986 and 1999 (remember, this was the heyday of the licence-permit raj). Sula is today the undisputed market leader in India, with Grover a distant second, while Indage wound up in 2009/10.
The second wave was unleashed in 2001 with the relaxation of import restrictions on wines and the subsequent Maharashtra Grape Processing Policy 2003 and the Karnataka Wine Policy 2007 which liberalised licensing for wineries. This led to a boom in wineries being set up - largely by grape farmers and people with an agricultural background - and much indifferent quality wine sloshing around. Predictably, most of the 100-odd wineries of that wave are either closed or mothballed - the few that survive are selling within their state at low prices or high discounts (or both).
The third wave comprises companies and individuals with deep pockets and a better understanding of how to make and market good wines: some have been set up by the liquor majors (Four Seasons by United Spirits, Nine Hills by Seagram), some by people with passion and vision (Fratelli, York, Vallonne & Zampa in Maharashtra and Alpine and Krsma in Karnataka).
Joining the second group is Charosa whose wines were actually launched in Mumbai in 2012 and which is now looking to expand into markets in the north and south as well as overseas. Owner Ajit Gulabchand of HCC got interested in wine following a visit to Italy in the summer of 2004. He started looking at entering the wine industry thereafter - I had made a presentation to him in early 2005, and had even accompanied his daughter, Shalaka, to Nashik to visit some of the wineries there, and going by the reports they've done a great job thereafter.
Charosa Wineries has been set up for the long term: set amidst 230 acres of rolling farmland in the Dindori area north of Nashik, it's one of the two wineries in India to use square open-topped fermenters for their reds (the other is Krsma), which accounts for the excellent colour of their reds.
Their wines are all in custom-made dark green glass bottles with screwcaps - useful and convenient for consumers. I tasted the following wines:
Charosa Vineyards RESERVE Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (Rs 1,500 in Bangalore): Dark red colour, complex fruity aroma, full-bodied mouthfeel with smooth tannins, good finish. Still young, will improve in bottle.
Charosa Vineyards RESERVE Tempranillo 2012 (also Rs 1,500 in Bangalore): Dark red, complex berry aromas, medium+ body, balanced tannins, decent finish. The first Tempranillo in India.
Charosa Vineyards SELECTIONS Shiraz 2012 (Rs 900 in Bangalore): Also a dark red colour, has six months in oak. Fruity aromas with a touch of spice and a medium-bodied mouthfeel with firm tannins. A bit expensive - blame taxes in Karnataka.
Charosa Vineyards SELECTIONS Sauvignon Blanc 2013 (Rs 850 in Bangalore): A surprisingly straw-yellow colour, but with clean lime-lemon aromas and a dry, balanced taste with a bitter finish.
Like the recently-elected Bharatiya Janata Party, hope they also endure - Cheers.
Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant