The Complete Wine Guide




New Delhi, India


A US and Europe-trained enologist Aakash Singh Rathore has come out with a book, ‘The Complete Indian Wine Guide’. The publishers claim it to be the only book providing a comprehensive exposition of every domestic Indian wine.
The pocket-sized information-packed book can be carried along as a reference guide. The author has visited every functioning winery in India, searching for the best wines, even from among the little-known and fledgling producers. Every single wine made in India as well as international wines are tasted, described and scored which enables the Indian consumer to select the best wines possible.

The Wine Guide provides everything you need to know about the wine basics: how to properly enjoy a wine, that is, following the three steps of wine-evaluation — eye, nose, and taste; it irreverently exposes all the myths of wine etiquette, for example, about the need for special wine glasses or for decanting wine which tend to scare people away from wine. Instead, you learn how to select, order, serve and enjoy wine whether choosing from a wine-list at a restaurant or casually among friends..
The book concentrates intensively on the Indian conditions, explaining how wine should be served and stored here.

It provides an interesting sketch of the history of wine-making and drinking in India, from ancient times till now.
Additionally, there is a concise overview of wines from France, Germany, Spain, the USA, Chile, etc., helping you to distinguish, for example Bordeaux from Beaujolais or Prosecco from Sekt. There is information on how to decipher foreign labels, various classification systems, and of course specific details about wine types, regions, and styles. By the time you have finished this book, you will not just know your Dry from Sweet, but even your Cabernet Sauvignon from Sauvignon Blanc. The wine guide has numerous user-friendly features for the beginners and experts alike.

For the beginner, there is an extensive glossary of common wine terms along with a helpful pronunciation guide. For all consumers, there are several handy appendixes: There is a chart listing India’s best Red, White, Rosé, and Sparkling wines. There is a chart summarising the best wines for each grape-variety. There is also a comparative chart giving the best value-for-money wines available on the market.

Ms Devyani Rathore, a diplomat and wife of the author, says the book aims to contribute to the wider awareness of high-quality Indian wines, even as it guides the Indian consumer through all the wines – domestic and imported – on the Indian market.
As the author argues, Indian wine, if properly supported and urged on, has a glorious future ahead.

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CURRENT SCENARIO

Today theoverall sales are around 700,000 cases a year. Table wines account for 88-90percent of the market and expensive varieties of vintage wines account for theremaining 10-12 per cent. Though the base of the market is small at 7 lac cases / year currently the wine industry in India

isgrowing at the rate of more than 25% per annumn.


There are three big companies presently making ‘Premium’ wine– Indage, Sula andGrover Vineyards. Others (Shaw Wallace, McDowells andthe six Goa-based companies) produce cheaper winesfrom table grapes and the bulk of the Goan output isconsumed within that state itself.
However, more and more wineries are being set up with the aim to produce mainly‘international style’ wines, namely VinsuraWhile Indage is the market leader, Sula’s
volumes grew by over 65 per cent last year.

Alreadythere are more than 30 wineries operational with over 100 Indian brands.Australians being the best exporters are already here with Howling Wolves wineGroup (HWWG), Ironstone vineyards, Greenpoint wines.Others include Terraza, Casa Lapostollefrom South America along with old liquor majors in India like Seagram’s and UDV.Sopexa, a French marketing and promotion board hassetup office in India with aplan to increase French wine import in India by 50% in next two years.

In the next few years, there would be over 100 wineries of varying sizesoperating in the country, and with the government support in reduction ofduties, the prices would reduce leading to the growth in this industry.

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