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The grand old man of the Indian wine industry – that phrase brings to mind just one name –Kanwal Grover of Grover Vineyards. A stylish and erudite statesman Kanwal Grover, is a pioneering Indian winemaker who over two decades go took upon himself the challenge of growing and processing domestically grown French varieties of grapes in what was then a very nascent wine market. Many harvests down the line , Grover Vineyards is today at the top of the pack with over 400 acres under cultivation ,multi-locational production facilities and a well developed marketing network to bring home their award winning wines both in India and abroad.
In recognition of work done by Kanwal Grover and his son Kapil in the wine business, the French Government recently invested them with two prestigious awards. The awards of “Officer du Merite Agricole “for Kanwal and the “Chevalier de l’orde National du Merite” for Kapil were presented to them by the French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont at a well attended ceremony at the French embassy last night.
For a wine aficionado like me, the evening was a double whammy – Grover Vineyards were also taking the opportunity to commemorate their 20th anniversary by launching their Art Collection of wines. What’s art got to do with wine you may well ask? According to Kapil Grover, the man very much in charge of the business, the idea was to bring together the relation between fine art and fine wines and to communicate that their Art Collection wines are true pieces of art –reflective of the winemaker’s talent and inspiration. And being an Indian brand, what better than to have some of the leading lndian artists to leave their stamp on the labels – an interesting concept, different to how other Indian wines are positioned, with very markedly eye catching visual appeal on the labels
With major changes in the landscape of the wine business in the last couple of years, Grover Vineyards also had their fair share of upheavals. A quality problem last year, due to sedimentation in the bottle after bottling, led to a cessation of supplies to the market for most of 2008. Kapil Grover reacted proactively with a Rs 10 crore upgrade of his manufacturing facilites, a revamp of the production process and in what is the culmination of all that hard work –the relaunch of Grover wines with the Art Collection.
Under this label ,which will be the mainline Grover label, the line up runs the full gamut from a Sauvignon Blanc , a Viognier , a Blanc de Blanc in the white corner to a Rose in the middle and a Cabernet Shiraz in the red corner . Though higher in price in the range of Rs 420 -480, the Art collection still is very competitively in its price positioning –occupying the niche at the top end of Indian wines and just about below the cheapest imported wines. The La Reserve, the flagship wine, will continue to be under the Grover banner and will retail at Rs 580.
 Michel Rolland, the world renowned wine making consultant whose has been intimately involved with the Art Collection, told me that the lineup of white varietals is the widest of any Indian producer and is reflective of the improvements carried out at the winery. I was as impressed by the Viognier (Rs 440) – a pleasant, aromatic wine with a peachy nose and a refreshing mouth feel- as I was with the Blanc de Blanc which is in the same price range and a far cry from the earlier bland offering. Both these wines give Grover Wines a good shot at being the No1 in white wine category – a slot commonly accepted to being occupied by Sula wines. The Sauvignon Blanc ( Rs 470) unfortunately did not set the Jamuna alight with its acidity and astringency which overpowered the fruity mouth.
What is also very pleasing to note is Grover Wines continuing to ensure a product offering in the Rose wine category. This is literally an undiscovered category for most Indian wine drinkers who view wine as either white or red. The Art collection version( Rs 420) which is more salmon in colour than normal rose wines, has distinct flavours of cherry and strawberry and being from the Shiraz grape family , is well positioned to go well with Indian food . I would heartily recommend a chilled glass of this wine as a pre lunch apertif on a baking Sunday afternoon.
The air-conditioning plant servicing the enclosed courtyard of the French embassy was probably suffering the effects of doing battle with the hottest April day temperature in fifty years, so whilst we were sweltering in our suits, the reds wines were suffering pretty much the same fate and delivered below their potential. The Cabernet Shiraz (Rs 460) promises to be an easy drinking wine for casual quaffing and with a slightly spicy taste this could be a good match for barbequed and tandoori meats .
 Even at a room temperature of well over 25 degrees, the class of the La Reserve made it stand out as head and shoulders above the rest of its stable mates. This wine has a fruity bouquet , a chocolate/coffee mouth and a lingering mouth feel. No doubt cooled and decanted, this premium offering at Rs 580 will surely retain its lofty perch as the No1 Indian red wine. Look for it on the shelves.
The Art Collection on the whole represents not only a welcome return to the wine shelves for Grover Vineyards but also a significant step up in wine quality. Michel Rolland and his boys have done a superb job in the winery and given Kapil Grover’s new partner , Aman Dhall who is also India’s largest wine importer and distributor , a head start in making Grover Vineyards India’s top winemaker. Good luck to all of them!
Arun Batra is a Delhi based management consultant, a food and wine enthusiast and a long time member of the Delhi Wine Club |