Whether a wine is good or bad, Indian or imported, it needs to first be sold to the “trade” (retailers and/or hotels/restaurants/clubs) before they reach the consumer, there being (as yet) few provisions in India for direct sales from a winery to the public.
This poses some unique challenges for wine, particularly, as most wineries are really “boutique” wineries producing less than 10,000 cases annually, and do not have the organisation or funds to market their wares pan-India.
For one, selling wines (indeed any alcoholic beverage) in India is like operating in 28 different countries: alcoholic beverages are a state subject here, and each has its own rules and regulations (and duties and taxes), including licence, label registration, export and import fees — apart from the usual excise duties and sales taxes. The system is complex, little information is available online, and many wineries often find it simpler (and cheaper) to sell overseas rather than in, say, Delhi.
But apart from the maze of regulations imposed by state excise are the minefields of demands from the trade, which for some reason has concluded that wine vendors have loads of money and will pay almost anything to get their products on-shelf or listed.
So the various retailer associations of, say, Mumbai stipulate what “scheme” (discount) a new entrant must agree to, while most modern trade chains impose charges ranging upto Rs 25,000 for each brand sought to be listed — with no guarantees whatsoever. Most retailers are quite clueless about wines, and will continue to stock a label if it moves — few take the trouble to actually develop any understanding of the subject, and fewer still invest in suitable storage facilities. To be fair, since trade margins and the maximum selling price of wines is pre-set in most markets, it is not surprising that retailers want additional discounts
Hotels, restaurants and clubs (“Horeca”) impose their own set of requirements and demands — never mind that they are not obliged to have prescribed margins or mark-ups.
The big hotel chains (Taj, ITC, Oberoi) have centralised approval and purchase of wines, and hold annual jamborees where present and aspiring vendors submit their wines for tasting. If approved, and once prices have been negotiated, vendors need to convince each individual hotel’s management to list their labels — there’s no automatic buy-in! Some hotel wine lists may run into hundreds of wines — with distressingly few Indian wines listed. Hotels tend to have a 230-300 per cent mark-up on wines, and tend to be happier selling imported wines (which are cheaper without customs duties) than stuff from India.
Good restaurants and the top clubs also follow a screening protocol. They may want the wines to be tasted, and want some form of marketing support apart from trade discounts and free wine for events. Unfortunately, most on-premise establishments tend to just look for discounts — and some vendors offer upto 50 per cent just to get listed, never mind that there are no restrictions on the prices at which wines may be sold.
Wines I’ve been drinking:
Rolf Binder, owner and wine-maker of the eponymous Australian winery, was in India, so I had organised a tasting of some of his wines at the Biere Club Chophouse, Bangalore. Of the five wines tasted what stood out were the Rolf Binder Eden Valley Riesling 2010 — a 90-point wine that had terrific aroma and a crisp and medium-bodied taste that was just terrific, and the Rolf Binder Heysen Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006, whose 94 points by Wine Spectator was evidenced in a complex aroma (think truffles, pencil shavings and berries) and a great concentrated taste and long finish — just fantastic.
Here’s mud in yer eye, Mate!
Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant
