The booming economy and the rising middle-class with a penchant for luxury has propelled leaders in the global wine industry to foray into India. Global wine player Chapoutier will launch its international brands in the country in a couple of weeks. A French brand, Chapoutier is regarded as the finest wine in the world after Bordeaux, the best wine brand from France. The company plans to distribute its nine labels in the country through its partner Finewinesnmore.
The Chapoutier brands, made of grapes cultivated in the Rhone Valley of France, will be distributed in India with price tags ranging between Rs 1,500 and Rs 25,000. The super premium brands will not be sold in the country now. ?Currently, we have plans for nine semi-premium and premium brands. Later, as per the demand, we will consider the sale of super premium brands,? Chapoutier regional export manager Stephane Barlerin says. The company has about 37 brands in its product basket. ?We hope to sell about 1,000 cases in the first year here,? Barlerin added. Chapoutier is selling 4 million bottles across the globe yearly.
According to a Rabo India study, during 2004-05, wine worth $6 million was imported by India, and by 2006-2007, this figure had risen to almost $10.5 million. Currently, about 50,000 cases of ?bottled in origin wine? are sold in India. This is expected to increase in the wake of recent reductions in import duties, the study said. India currently imports 1.7 million litres of wine, mostly from France, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, North America and South Africa. In terms of value, wine from France accounted for almost half of total imports, followed by Italy and then Australia.
Interestingly, labels of Chapoutier?s wines are printed in braille to help the blind know the brands. In future, the companies entire wine production, both the French and foreign markets, will have braille labels. The firm started operation in 1879. Renowned grape varieties such as Syrah, Marsanne and Viognier are being cultivated at Rhone valley, lying between the Alps and the Massif Central.
Due to duty-free imports by hotels, which form the bulk of buyers, more higher-priced wines are being imported, explaining the strong growth in value terms. There has been a substantial growth in wine imports to India in the last 3 years, the Rabo India study said. The Indian wine market is valued at $62 million in value terms and is likely to grow by 25% to 30% to 1.7 million cases by 2010 from the current market of 785,000 cases.