The Wine Society Of India

Are you creative dedicated and a self-starter? Are you interested to join a team of wine enthusiasts? The wine industry is India's fastest growing sector, and The Wine Society of India is India's largest direct marketing wine company. We are looking for an inspired Brand Manager to join our team and drive all on and off-line marketing activities to achieve demanding member acquisition targets! View the entire comment thread.

Full Story: Classifieds: Job Opening for WSI Brand Manager - Sommelier India (blog)

Left: Bernadette Thienpont After everybody trickled in and all the Champagne was spent, proceedings moved to Valhalla's private dining room, elegantly set up in a discreet corner of the restaurant.

The first course of the night was paired with the Mandrarossa Fiano 2008 , which despite being a gem of a Sicilian White, was relatively unknown, and required a short introduction by Myles. It was served well before the dish it was meant to be paired with, and set a cheery atmosphere that lasted well through the rest of the week! We were halfway through the second wine of the evening when the Duck and Chicken Liver Terrine arrived. It was intense and creamy, with a tart prune sauce acting as the perfect foil. So outstanding was our first dish that conversation ground to a halt for almost three minutes, as everybody focused solely on the starter in front of them.

Within seconds of our next course arriving, we realized we were in the hands of a master craftsman. Even more remarkable was how well the Blue-shelled Crab Salad paired with the Wine Society's Steven Spurrier Selection Bordeaux 2007 , poured slightly earlier than expected.

Full Story: Thienpont regales Wine Society of India members - Sommelier India (blog)

Speaking to Harpers following a debate on the state of the Indian wine market at the Taste Food & Wine Conference in Mumbai, Joseph, chair of the Indian Wine Challenge, said: "European-style wines are not necessarily what the Indian consumer likes.

"Indians tend to have a sweet tooth and wines with 11 grams of sugar may be better suited.

"Maybe importers should find out their consumers' taste preferences and tailor brands accordingly if they want to grow their market share." But Nishant Kapoor, general manager of The Wine Society of India, disagrees: "I think it is too early to research taste profiles. The Indians currently drinking wine are aware of wine regions and brands, and France is still important to them for the status it holds.

Full Story: Indians 'want sweeter wines' - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade Review

Firstly, the report stated that a "deluge" of medals were awarded at the Sommelier India Wine Competition in relation to the India Wine Challenge. The report also stated that an SIWC gold medal was not a true gold and the equivalent of a silver at another competition. Here are the facts.

The Sommelier India Wine Competition was held in November 2009. 415 wines were entered of which only 18 got gold medals representing 4.3% of the wines entered. In the IWC, 218 wines were entered of which 10 were awarded gold representing 4.5% of all wines entered. In other words, there were more gold medals awarded at the IWC relative to the SIWC! To use the language of the report, the SIWC Gold was more of a true gold! 64 Silver medals were awarded at the SIWC representing 15% of the wines entered versus 8 at the IWC representing 3.6%. Yes, in this case more silvers were awarded at the SIWC. 23% of the SIWC wines were awarded bronze medals while 16% of IWC winners received the same. Here the difference between the two is not significant and hardly bears discussion. 11% of the SIWC wines were commended while 17% of the IWC wines got Seals of Approval (the equivalent). Here the tables were turned with more IWC awards than those at the SIWC.

In all, 55% of the SIWC wines were awarded medals whereas 42% of IWC wines won recognition. Moreover, if one were to look at the percentages, the fact remains that an SIWC Gold medal was more exclusive.

Full Story: Getting the facts straight. SIWC & IWC Gold Winners - Sommelier India (blog)

"Being a British company, we try to bring in that aura. And this time, we have PG Wodehouse-type humour in our ad," Nikhil Rao, assistant vice-president, marketing, Cadbury India, tells afaqs!.

"The last Bournville ad that we launched got us great response. We were quite keen to take forward the legacy of that brand, which means a bit of British heritage, a bit of humour, and telling people how to appreciate Bournville, because it is one of the finer things in life," says Abhijit Avasthi, national creative director, Ogilvy. Apart from this ad, Avasthi also worked on the earlier Bournville ad, which showcased an American travel host.

Manoj Shetty, executive creative director, Ogilvy, who has also worked on the campaign with Avasthi, says that to make people see the value in the product and appreciate the premium touch, the agency used the character of a butler, who is supposed to be a gentleman's gentleman.

Full Story: Cadbury Bournville: The fine experience of chocolate - afaqs!