Photo By:: Adil Arora
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| INDIA- Wines for Asia-2005 |
This is the first participation on a collective platform in Europe by wineries from India which is the latest of the many wine producing countries emerging onto the UK market, who are exhibiting at the LIWF this year.
The exhibitors at the Indian pavilion are Sula, Four Seasons, Indage, Mercury, Renaissance, Valle de Vin, Vintage Wines and York. IGPB will also showcase the role of the Board and services provided by it, says Mrs. Vinod Kotwal, CEO of IGPB and Director in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, disclosing that the wineries were being charged a subsidised rate of Rs.35,000 ($750) for participating in the 60 m pavilion.
Mr. Rajeshwar Rao, Jt. Secretary of MOFPI and the Vice Chairman of the joint private-government initiative that came into existence last June will be present to give all support to the Indian producers. Talking to delWine, he said, ‘our objective in taking part in the show is to create Brand India and we shall be taking part in wine shows in future with this objective. We are very optimistic about the response to Indian wines.’
Surprisingly, all eight producers, including the market leader Sula, Indage, and the new UB venture, Four Seasons, hail from the Maharashtra. Grover Vineyards which participated in Hong Kong is missing in action. On display and available for tasting will be reds, whites, rosé as well as sparkling wines made from a wide range of international grape varietals.
Sula is a very enthusiastic participant at the Show. Rajeev Samant, the owner- CEO of Sula says,’ The UK is possibly the export market with the best potential for Indian wines. It’s a great first step by IGPB to have an India stand at this year’s LIWF which is by far the most important annual wine show in the UK. Sula will be displaying the wines for the first time and the timing couldn’t be better for us, as we’ve just been taken on by one of the UK’s top wine importers, Hallgarten Druit who have taken over Novum. So, in fact our wines will be on display at two stands concurrently!’
UB wines are taking the Show very seriously too with Abhay Kewadkar, the Business Head, leaving for London- he has been directing the staff at London getting ready for the show. He informs delWine, ‘we are participating in LIWF as we believe that Indian wine Industry needs to work together and work towards "wines from India" as a Brand .IGPB has provided a great opportunity by taking an India Pavilion and bringing together 8 wineries. This effort needs to be continued on National as well as International scale, It is extremely important to develop credibility in this nascent stage itself. Wineries need to understand International laws and follow them.’
Kapil Grover who had taken part in Hong Kong show primarily to show solidarity with the then newly formed IGPB is slightly disappointed that they are not participating. ‘we did apply for participation but due to some confusion at our end, were a bit too late and all the 8 slots were already taken.’ This augers well for the IGPB and the faith producers are showing in the export market and the capabilities of the Board (it helps that the cost of participation is only around Rs.35,000- a highly subsidised price, as it ought to be). Grover seems to have pulled a coup of sorts and have appointed a distributor whose name cannot be disclosed at the moment due to sworn secrecy, but they will be at the Show, though not under the India’s Tri-colour.
‘We will be showcasing our award winning wines from Decanter Award 2008 and India Wine Challenge 2008, says Viral Pancholia, owner of mercury Wineries, one of the exhibitors at the show which is being held at Excel, London from May 18-20.
The Indian wineries had participated for the first time ever under the Indian flag, though on a smaller scale when Indian Wine Academy had organised four participants at Wines for Asia in Singapore in 2005. Visit http://www.indianwineacademy.com/wine_for_asia_2005.asp for details. ‘Apple of the eye was, of course, the INDIA pavilion erected for the first time at an international wine show. Although Indage and Sula were really the only wine producers present.. but two of the three biggies participating were quite encouraging,’ the portal had reported … The India Pavilion was an Initiative of the Indian Wine Academy committed to promoting Brand India and showcasing India as a wine producing nation to the rest o the world.
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| INDIA- Hong Kong Trade Show-2009 |
Indian wines are finding a lot of interest abroad. James Murray, exhibition director of LIWF says, "India is emerging as a key player on the world scene and its wines are definitely the ones to watch for, in the future. We're delighted that these producers and the Indian Grape Processing Board have chosen the LIWF to launch their first European generic push."
The IGPB and the wineries on the Indian pavilion will host a Masterclass on Thursday May 20th at 3pm, entitled "Wines of India - traditionally modern!" It will be conducted by the well- known wine writer and journalist Steven Spurrier.
For details about exhibitors at the Show and a link to Grapevine show guide which outlines all the hot launches happening at the show along with details of all the Masterclasses, visit http://2010.londonwinefair.com/grapevine/
Several of our readers, foreign producers and wine writers I meet at various international outings often ask me to get Indian wines for them to taste. I am unable to attend the show as I am committed those days to the tastings in Barolo and Barbaresco from where I have to go to Puglia for judging a wine competition but I encourage wine lovers to taste our Indian wines at stall D-40. You might be impressed with the progress made by the infant industry-Subhash Arora |