York Winery, which made Chandon Sparkling Wines for Moet and Chandon for three years as a contract facility, is now bringing out its own brand of sparkling wines. Located barely a kilometre away from the Sula Vineyards, York Winery has a feel similar to Sula. The expanse of winery with a tasting room overlooks the Gangapur Lake and has a restaurant with a small theatre-type entertainment area. A small resort is in the offing soon. York appears to emulate Sula as a role model, but owner Ravi Gurnani is quick to point out that his winery has established its own brand.
Ravi Gurnani, director, says they will be launching a sparkling wine label called Sparkling York priced at R975 and a new Reserve called Arros, priced at R1,045, will be launched in the market next month. The Reserve is a blend of Cabernet and Shiraaz, he says. Gurnani says there is an uptake for wines this season, but this cannot be attributed to the new labelling regulations of Food Safety Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI).
?This is normal during the festive season since consumption trends tend to be higher. The second half of the year usually contributes 60% of the total sales,? he feels. The next couple of months should be good for most wineries, Gurnani says.
Other players that make sparkling wines include Good Drop Wine Cellars who make the Rio brand of wines, Vinsura Wines and Sula. The first sparkling wine in India ?Marquis de Pompadour Brut (exported as Omar Khayyam) ?was launched by Indage Vintners in 1990s and it enjoyed monopoly for a very long time until the company filed for bankruptcy and Sula who entered the wine market in 2000 took over the segment some 10 years back with the launch of its first sparkling wine
According to IWSR (International Wine & Spirit Research), the current market for sparkling wine in India is growing from a very small base of 4% of the total wine market. Wine consumption in India is likely to increase to 2.1 million cases by 2017, 73% higher than 1.21 million cases in 2013, said a survey by Vinexpo. In 2013, Indians consumed 1.10 million cases of wine, with red wine leading in the segment with 0.67 million cases while white wine and rose wine were 0.37 million cases and 0.06 million cases, respectively. The rest is sparking wine like Champagne. India is 11th biggest wine-consuming country in Asia-Pacific, the International Wine and Spirits Report, 2014, said.
York Winery describes its winemaking style as a combination of modern Australian and South African practices with some French Influence. The wine storage capacity at the winery is around 1 million litres Built in 2006, York Winery occupies seven acres of vineyards overlooking Gangapur Dam, close to Sula Vineyards. This young family-owned winery focuses on producing fruity and dry, rather than sweet, wines. The winery boasts of a gold medal Reserve Shiraz, aged in oak, to its name Gurnani and his brother-in-law were quick in identifying the need for reasonably-priced export-quality wine, as well as setting up a spot for a quick modern getaway catering to the upwardly mobile middle class.
The family bought nine acres in 2004, on which table grapes were growing. They decided to start growing wine grapes and construct a winery on the land. The wine bar and the tasting room came up in 2009 and business has been slowly picking up since. Apart from their own wines, York is also a contract manufacturer and has been making wine for the Good Earth Winery and Mandala Valley wines from Bangalore. The firm also started bottling for Turning Point label and is using the facility for the Chandon sparkling wine for Moet and Chandon. The winery produces about 1.5 lakh litres and makes about six varietals.The winery exports under a very smart Mantra label and have sparkling wine next on the agenda.