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A full house listened with rapt attention when Vikash addressed the audience,
a majority of which consisted of producers who are exporting or planning
to enter this potentially lucrative but paradoxical market.
An
Idea is born
'Despite having gallons of wine, we could not find the
right mix or the desired satisfaction level, both taste and price-wise,'
said Vikash, while talking about how he got into the wine business.
While celebrating a re-union with two good friends Anand
Khattar and Vipul Nanda, in 2006, having a wonderful time reminiscing
about younger days and tasting different types of wines, they realised
that there was a gap to be filled.
'An idea was born on that day, which resulted in our
expedition into the world of wines.' The three started attending wine
sessions, buying different labels and trying to understand why wine was
becoming such a special drink in India.
They felt the existence of a vacuum which could be explored
and exploited. A company was formed by them. Selecting the location for
grape growing was not too difficult; with one of the partners with a farming
background in the grape growing area of Nashik, the same was selected
and the vineyard land was bought.
Available options
Explained Vikash, 'the business model that would work
in India could be one of the following:
1. To develop an Indian label at our own vineyard. To
the surprise of many people, there are a few successful labels which exist
in India, i.e. Sula, Indage and Grover's.
2. Import wine in bulk from abroad, bottle it in India
and create a new brand.
3. Import bottled wine. Under this we had a choice;
(a) To import an established label either by acquisition
or by purchase of specific quantities at a time.
(b) Get imported bottled wine and create our own brand.'
Creating a Label
As the story unfolded when their wines were launched,
they had decided 'to import bottled wine and work towards creating our
own brand. This was because we felt that this strategy would give us flexibility
to get the ideal product at the right price-point for our target consumers.
The other reason for this option was to give the Indian Consumer an absolutely
new and different product, which would not be affected by existing pr
ejudices against prevalent brands,' said Vikash.
Opera is Born
The complexity of names and labels in Italy and France is not lost on many
consumers who prefer to select a wine with a label simple enough to read
or pronounce.
India is not different either. Therefore,
they decided to go with the maxim, 'Simple is beautiful.'
Numerous names were considered and finally, 'Opera'
was the chosen brand. 'It is simple, rolls off the tongue quite easily,
gels well with our people and of course, it is easy to remember! The bottle
label too has been kept clean and simple,' added Gupta.
Problems and Challenges
Doing business in wines in India is not easy and has
a lot of administrative hurdles. Vikash talked about:
* Unstable and unfriendly import policy
* Poor warehousing and logistics facilities
* Ban on advertising of wine in any form
* Administratively, every state is a different country because of a federal
character.
* Lack of wine culture and awareness.
* Many illogical, antiquated laws, like one cannot take the left-over
bottle in a restaurant though the full bottle has been paid for.
* Categorisation by the government, of wine as an alcoholic drink like
whisky and other hard liquors rather than part of food, as is prevalent
in most other parts of the world.
“Those are only a few of the challenges that are
being faced by the importers”, Vikash told the interested producers.
Indo-Italian Collaboration
Perhaps the first of its kind in the Indian wine industry,
Vinner collaborated with Enoteca Regionale Emilia Romagna, as a 50-50
joint venture. It was a well thought out strategy, says Vikash. 'We felt
there was mysticism of the unknown in Italian wines. The wonderful aroma
and flavour of Italian wines is largely unknown to the Indian mind. This
was an opportune moment for us to exploit.'
'An Indian cannot be an Italian. We, therefore, required
an Italian association to exploit the intricacies of Italian wines. Our
clear intent was to import select Italian wines, while also utilising
Italian technical prowess and modern machinery, to produce superior quality
wines at our own vineyards in Nashik. We have already planted the grapes
at our property, and construction shall commence in a while.
‘The company has bought 17 acres of land in a beautiful spot in Nashik.
A combination of mountains, water body and even a small temple nearby makes
it an ideal spot where we plan to build a winery, along with a sample vineyard
and a resort. The first planting was done a year and half ago. A kaleidoscope
of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc, the first
crop this year was sold off, as will be the next year's vintage', confides
Gupta who believes it takes a minimum of 2 years before it is worthwhile
to crush grapes for quality wine.
And Gupta, belonging
to the second wave of wine producers, believes that quality is a must
for survival and he has plans to grow, not just survive. The collaboration
with Italians is a long term relationship. The existing partners are very
excited about the possibility of collaborating in the Indian winery business
- foreigners cannot buy vineyards but can own a winery.
Collaboration
The excitement was not this high in the beginning. 'Enoteca',
based in Dozza near Bologna, in the manufacturing-strong, economically
rich region of Italy, was undoubtedly interested in India. Says Gian Alfonso
Roda, President of Enoteca Regionale Emilia Romagna, 'We are pleased to
have joined hands with Vinner. They have a clear, long term vision and
are extremely passionate about Italian wines, which is good for us too.'
The company has a broader vision of the wine market in India and does
not insist on selling wines only from Emilia-Romagna. 'We want them to
concentrate on Italian wines that can be popularised for the Indian palate.'
'The best part of the partners is that they do not interfere
in our working, so long as we focus on the Italian wines. 'The Opera'
label jointly owned by the two can well be exploited in China or Russia
in the future, though we jointly own the brand globally,' adds Vikash.
The confidence was built when Roda visited India and
spent several days getting a feel of the Indian lifestyle, eating and
drinking habits. He even went to Nashik to study the existing wine industry
and knew this was the market to be in.
Wine Tourism and Events
Gupta, who has a strong desire to get into wine tourism
through his 17-acre existing property which will be turned into a resort,
is already negotiating for 80 acres in the neighbourhood to expand his
crush capacity.
He understands that the wine market can truly be expanded
through wine tourism and organising wine events. These events can be informational,
presentations, awareness-oriented, on a website (under construction) and
can be at the guest or staff level.
Second visit to Vinitaly
This was not the first visit to Vinitaly for Vikash. He came here last year
where the Opera label was formally launched in the Emilia Romagna Padiglione
(Pavillion). One could appreciate the seriousness with which he and his
team did their homework, as all the wines selected for the Indian market
were matched with both the Italian and Indian cuisine here.
Earlier, the company had imported samples of several labels and had them
tested and tasted with various experts and hoteliers, including a group
of consumer friends, at a guided tasting session conducted by the Indian
Wine Academy. The invited guests acted as ’sommeliers’ and
gave their individual opinion of all wines tasted.
Today, Vikash is happy because the four wines they had
selected with the help of several guiding stars including these 'sommeliers'
– Lambrusco Frizzante, Sangiovese, Pignoletto and Chianti Reserva
2001, Opera all, have caught the fancy of women, younger folks and many
novices alike.
'India is a nation with more than half of the 1.1 billion being under
35. If we want to expand the market, we have to target the 25-40 age groups.
The off-dry, picnicy Lambrusco caught the fancy of party loving women
and men alike. It goes well with spicy Indian food and the gentle bubbles
cleanse the palate as one sips along. Even vegetarians love the low alcohol
8% wine with low tannins.'
Vikash and Vinner Enoteca are serious about the wine
business and optimistic about the future. They have set their goal rather
high- to make Opera the number one brand in five years. Always keen to
learn about wines, he took training for a day from Roberto Gardini, the
'Best Sommelier of Italy' in 1993. An entrepreneur to the core, he feels
there is scope to expand the market in multiple ways.
Vinner Enoteca will be the wine company to watch during
the next five years, not only for its wines - produced overseas and in
India - but also the business plans he has made around many wine related
opportunities.
Subhash Arora
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