In high spirits, Grover Zampa to take the fight to wine market leader Sula

“Sula was very alert and went ahead and filled up all the vacuum that Indage created. They introduced new brands and they went into each price segment and they really galloped ahead,” said Jain.

Grover Zampa is now positioning at least eight brands including sparkling and still wines in the price range of R200-1,100 a bottle besides introducing two port wine brands in the R100-150 category. “We are a wine manufacturer and by staying only on the top we will never be viable. We should get to all levels and get all kinds of consumers,” said Jain, adding that the firm is aiming at growing volumes by at least 50% next year.

It also plans to strengthen the marketing network besides appointing a CEO to run operations.

“It's a long haul, it will take them at least 2-3 years,” said Alok Chandra, a Bangalore-based wine expert and consultant. While the wine industry volumes are still small and profitability very thin, the barriers to expanding reach are also high, he said.

Sula, Grover Zampa and United Spirits Ltd are the three largest winemakers in India at present. The wine industry volumes were at 1.6 million litre in 2011, with fortified wine accounting for 600,000

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