Photos By:: Adil Arora
 The Duty Free shops in India are a transformed lot- from the bad old days when there was none at the Arrival lounge and the Departure had very limited range. There has been a constant up-gradation in terms of product display, range and quality. There has been quite a decent selection of wines and champagnes available recently-enough for anyone to pick up 3 bottles of quality wines at good prices, which may retail at prohibitively expensive prices outside, if available at all. However, whereas the P.O.P. materials beckon you to pick up whisky and chocolates at minor discounts, there have been no such offers in the wine section.
Piper Heidsieck Rose Brut NV Sauvage champagne is apparently first such genuine offering- with a discount of 25% on the regular price of $50. It comes in an easy to carry/r gift attractive synthetic bag. An additional bonus is that this variant has not yet been released by the importers and owners of the label, Remy Cointreau which has other products like Cognac and Vodka on offer as well-in the Offer of the Month section.
By taking the step, the company, by default has pre-empted Brindco which is the largest supplier and has been promising special offers since the expansion of the wine portfolio was carried out and the displays made more tempting for the palate. However, the display of the discounts being offered is so tiny and almost invisible that one can easily walk out with the customary 2 bottles of whisky without giving a second look at the offer.
Piper Heidsieck is distributed through Sula Selections in India but supplies to the Duty Free at the IGI Airport are directly by Remy Cointreau. Rukn Luthra, country-head, confirms that the sales have been very well with Cointreau being perennially out of stock. ‘We also plan to launch the Rose in 6 months’ time in the Indian market and would like to have the people taste it through this channel at affordable prices. We took a conscientious decision to give a rebate on this variant only and not the traditional Brut which is selling very well.
 Made from 50 different Crus, this deep coloured champagne is very crisp, fresh with slight tartness of red fruit on the first attack but mellows down with notes of plums taking over from mixed red fruits including cherry and crushed strawberries. Exuberant and powerful bubbly with Millions of tiny bubbles making it very zingy and tempting to drink more than you planned on opening the bottle. A great combination with Chinese cuisine and even with tikkas (with medium masala) and other barbeques and most Indian vegetarian dishes but ideal with salmon and masala crabs. Since it is a bit on the dry end of the sweetness spectrum, it may not be best with very hot Indian food. Serve chilled at 10˚ C.
It may be stored for 6-12 months in your cellar or 1-2 months in the fridge, making it an ideal choice for 2 bottles till the offer lasts. Even at the regular DF price of $50 it is worth the price especially for special occasions-at the current price it is a bargain that has not been seen in the Indian market and if you are a genuine wine lover or dream to become a connoisseur soon, ask your friends, relatives or neighbour to pick up 2-3 bottles on the way back. At $37.50 it’s a good gift even when you are travelling abroad for your hosts or business partners.
Subhash Arora
We have no personal or commercial interest in the champagne. Being the first wine really on ‘Sale’, the concept must be actively supported so the duty free stores and other wine suppliers feel encouraged to bring out tempting offers. |