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Speculations are rife on how the wines would be released or if the Chougules would be directly behind the sales, production or the equity of the new company that owns the labels but it is certain that the wines would have nothing to do directly with Indage Vintners which is facing bankruptcy proceedings and the winery has been shut down including the stocks. Those employees whose salaries were not paid for months by Indage should not build up their hopes because Indage as the entity would not be involved directly. Since the matter is sub judice, no more details may be given in the matter at this time, though they are available with delWine.
It is also learnt that the old wine lying in tanks or warehouses is being technically re-conditioned to make it saleable. The front labels would be the same as before with perhaps the name of Indage on the front to meet the governmental requirement till these old stocks are cleared. It is also rumoured that the existing labels might be altered slightly to avoid any legal problems (for instance Chantilly could be be introduced as Chentilly or Chantilli). However, one has to wait till the release.
The grapevine also has it that the right to the labels has been transferred to a senior politician in Maharashtra, possibly to keep the labels alive and benefit from their popularity before Indage got straitjacketed and stuck into a financial quagmire. Labels like Chantilly and Omar Khayyam had enjoyed a stellar reputation not only in the domestic market but in the international markets when Omar Khayyam sparkling wine had first brought India on the world wine map in the late 80s.
A section of the people also indicated that there was an impression that Sula was being too powerful and monopolistic and that it was not a good sign for the domestic industry and these wines in the market just might inject the desired competition. Rajeev Samant, the founder CEO of Sula has often stated that he would love to have competition as it would help them to strive for further improvement in the quality of their wines. Incidentally, a news report in today's financial newspaper places Sula's enterprise value at Rs. 630 crore, over $105 million.
With Grover and Four Seasons having declared their intention to oblige him and Fratelli showing off with quality wines and an enviable track record during the last couple of years, it would be interesting to see how much of a dent the soon-to-be-introduced new ‘avatar’ of Indage will make in the market.
The wines are to be introduced in Maharashtra and Goa in the first instance, according to our sources.
Subhash Arora
Tags: Indage,Indage Vintners,Omar Khayyam,Sula |