Wines In India

Bill Hardy, Chief Winemaker & International Brand Ambassador, Hardys Wines, Australia, on his first trip to India co hosted a wine dinner along with Rajeev Samant, the quintessential man- about- town, CEO & Founder, Sula Vineyards on the 28th Sept, 2011 at Pali Village Café, Bandra, Mumbai.

Situated in the picturesque McLaren Vale wine region, Hardys is one of the most powerful Australian wine brands with a history dating back to 1853. Bill is the great-great-grandson of founder Thomas Hardy. He commenced work with Hardys in 1972 as a trainee winemaker at Tintara in McLaren Vale.

The following year he travelled to Bordeaux to undertake the Diplome Nationale d'Oenologue. After 27 vintages abroad and in Australia, Bill was appointed Hardys brand ambassador and corporate oenologist in 1995. He now travels around Australia and the world promoting his family's proud history, the stories and the wines of Hardys.

It was Bill Hardy's first day in India, and also the Hardys Stamp Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV's first day in the warehouse. The evening witnessed the launch of this sweet refreshing and easy drinking new sparkling wine from Hardys. We enjoyed the pairing of watermelon feta and chicken liver pate with it.

Uncorking the joy of Hardys. Wine Dinner in Mumbai - Sommelier India (blog)

Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd, distributor and importer of beverages, has introduced new range of wines from Olivier Leflaive, a French-based winery, at Grand Hyatt Mumbai recently. The new range of wines include red and white varieties from the Burgundy region of France. Olivier Leflaive is one of the largest wineries in the Burgundy region with 44 villages and has around 26,500 hectares of vineyards.

Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO-Wine Divison, Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd said, “We believe in bringing the best and premium quality wine brands in India from across the world.

Aspri Spirit launches new wine range from Olivier Leflaive in India - HospitalityBizIndia

Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd has recently brought to India Argiolas, one of Italy’s finest wines! Located amid Sardinia’s natural beauty, just north of Cagliari, is the Argiolas estate, widely known for its crisp and refreshing white wines and complex reds. Antonio Argiolas and his twin sons, Franco and Giuseppe, have worked diligently to fulfill their commitment to become the leaders in Sardinian enology.

Giacomo Tachis, father of prestigious Italian wines such as Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia, has been instrumental in placing Argiolas on the quality map. Like the Argiolas family, Tachis has a true passion for the island’s native varietals.

Their first vintage was bottled in 1989. The process in making this long-established wine involves it being aged for three months followed by an additional three months in the bottle.

Speaking on the tie-up, Mr. Jackie Matai, Director Aspri Spirits Pvt Ltd. said, “We at Aspri Spirits aspire and work towards enlarging our portfolio each time with the best of wine brands in the world. We are happy to launch Argiolas in India, with our research and vision we are confident to make it a success among our wine enthusiasts and the beginners.” He further added “We at Aspri Spirits always explore the opportunities to strengthen the company further in terms of our management, quality, staff and penetration reach.” With a clear see through straw yellow colour and light green tinges when poured in a wine glass, Argiolas Costamolino is a subtle yet intense and a delicately flavoured white wine with an enjoyable primary and secondary aroma. This fine feel wine accompanies best with seafood starters’ fregola (small balls of semolina) with crustaceans, fish stews, bass with artichokes, soft-textured medium mature cheeses.

E ncompassingevents - Launch of Argiolas wines in India - Indian Wine Portal (blog)

Picture this: a small vineyard, set amidst rolling hills, with the vines sloping down to a gleaming lake. At one end of the property is the winery, located at the base of a forested small hill; a short distance away is the homestead, a cottage with a sloping red-tiled roof and gleaming rough-finished walls, built in the hacienda style, with a large courtyard that gives air and light to the rooms.

The winery produces a small quantity of high-quality wine, most of which is pre-sold to eager customers who have registered with the winery, at prices that start at Rs 3,000 per bottle — but nobody complains and there’s a waiting list. There is a cellar door facility that allows visitors to sample the wines (for a fee) prior to buying a strictly apportioned number of bottles per head.

That’s the nearest thing to “vino-heaven” I can imagine. The first part was actually what Rajeev Samant did at Sula 15 years ago — the second is pure Napa Valley, and has been achieved by only a few “cult” wineries like Screaming Eagle, Sine Qua Non, and Harlan Estate. But there are hundreds of small wineries all over the world where passionate and dedicated individuals have found their little piece of heaven, and made it work.

Setting up a winery as envisaged above is certainly possible in both Maharashtra and Karnataka — both states have policies that make it relatively easier (and cheaper) to obtain a winery licence, compared to other states (save, perhaps, Goa). Getting 2-3 acres of land for the winery is not difficult — the problem is buying agricultural land for the vineyards.

Time travellers museum - Business Standard

Sep 23 : Last Tuesday saw ProChile and their Embassy bring ten Chilean producers to India to promote Chilean wines in India which offers a lucrative market to them but like a mirage has been eluding them so far, despite their efforts and marked presence in several sophisticated international markets, writes Subhash Arora who believes such events and focused efforts would deliver results to those who survive the oft frustrating Indian bureaucratic system rather than the wine market which is longing to grow.

About 200 wine professionals gathered in the Crystal Ballroom on the evening of 20th September to witness the Chilean Wine Tour, a kaleidoscope of over 70 wines to be tasted in two hours- a marathon tasting organised by ProChile and the Embassy of Chile. There was a bonus addition of delicious snacks that included chicken empanadas and the buffet dinner. Ten producers -Camino Real, Cantaluna, Casa Donoso, El Principal, Folatre, Melozal, Sur Valles, Top Wine Chile and Valdivieso from different valleys of Chile showcased their wines at the trade tasting for importers, F&B personnel, sommeliers and wine journalists.

In a short welcome speech, H.E. Christian Barros mentioned about the Chilean wines having the benefit of being spared by the Phylloxera pest disease. A short AV presentation by Nestor Riveros, Head of ProChile in India, who is very enthusiastic about increasing the share of Chilean wines which has been steady but stagnating during the last few years after an initial burst on the Indian scene, was focused on their flagship varietal Carmenere which used to be considered a Merlot (it looks and tastes a lot like the luscious fruit but for its higher acidity and the difficulty in ripening) for centuries but was discovered by a French viticulturist a few decades ago.

DelWine has been a great proponent of this wine for years and had been advocating the promotion of this varietal as a flagship varietal like Shiraz in Australia, Pinotage in South Africa and Malbec in Argentina. The problem has been that the grape does have problems of fully ripening, leaving a green aroma that continues into the flavour. Whereas Chile has been able to resolve the problem by and large, there were still many Carmeneres that had this typical green character tonight barring a few like Camino Real and Valdivieso. However, it has done quite well as a blending grape as one tasted in the glass with wines from El Principal.

Chileans are Here- The Chileans are Here - Indian Wine Academy