It is turning out to be one of Maharashtra?s juiciest success stories yet. Indians are taking to wine like never before and Maharashtra is whetting the appetites of young software geeks and professionals who are looking for healthier and more fashionable options. The state, which contributes almost 93% of the country’s wine, is seeing a rush of big players wanting to join the party.
Shamrao Chougule?s Champagne Indage Ltd was among the first to uncork the bubbly. Last year, United Spirits declared its intentions to set up India?s largest winery in Baramati. A greenfield project, Four Seasons Winery Limited, for making seven million bottles of still and sparkling wines, is in progress.
Sula Wines, the second largest player in the premium segment, will be adding 500 acre of vineyards every year. ??Sula has 300 acre of its own and in total has 1,400 acre under contract farming. The idea is to add another five million litres to the current capacity of 4.5 million litres in the next five years,?? says Rajeev Samant, CEO, Sula Wines.
Sula Wines has taken the route of tapping major retail chains to reach out to a wider segment.
??Wine consumption has gone up 25% to 30% over the last five years. Young professionals and women are increasingly shifting toward wine instead of spirits. Putting wine on retail shelves would enable us to reach out to more consumers,?? Samant said.
It is not just the big players. Smaller ones have also jumped into the fray. Vintage Wines has brought four varieties of red and white wine to the Indian market under the brand name ‘Reveilo’. Vintage has chosen Italian technology and has tied up with an Italian group ?Enofly? for setting up the winery. Yatin Patil, director, Vintage Wines, said,??We do not wish to be in the volumes game. We would prefer to become a player in the niche segment between the Rs 500 per bottle to Rs 1,345 per bottle price segment.??
To keep pace with the growing demand, an average of seven ?wine parks? have been opening every year since 2001. The number of wineries in the state has burgeoned from four in 2000 to 45 in 2007. In 2007, the state produced 1.32 crore litres, up from the 94 lakh litres last year. At present, the total area under grape cultivation in the state is around 40,000 hectares and is concentrated in and around Nasik, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Ahmednagar, Latur, Osmanabad and Satara. According to Jaideep Kale, technical coordinator, Grape Wine Parks for the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the state raised its investment in wineries from Rs 160.31 crore in 2006 to Rs 247.71 crore in 2007.
Wine majors, however, are not content with a presence in the domestic market. After the acquisition of Australian wine company, Tandou, the Indage group is going global and has set aside a $100 million kitty for acquisitions in all major wine-producing countries. Champagne Indage group president Arun Shah said the group had chalked out a roadmap of going global and building a 100 million litre business. ??We are half way there already, producing 45 million litres. The idea behind the acquisition is to build a sizeable business in every wine-producing country and in turn get a footprint in all major markets,?? he said.