Understanding the Indian Wine Market

However, it can be assumed that this development will not affect all importing countries to the same extent. A trade agreement with Australia, which was concluded at the end of 2022, should lead to a significant reduction in the cost of imports from the fifth continent. There are hopes that a similar deal will be done with the EU, but although an FTA was signed this year with non-EU members, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. negotiations with Brussels have been ongoing since 2007.

Local production and lifestyle

Increasing wine consumption cannot be separated from India's own wine industry. “The Indian wine market has seen major revamps in the last 30 years”, says Rojita Tiwari, who works as a wine writer, consultant and educator. While there were only a few producers back then, viticulture now plays an important role in the regions of Nashik in Maharashtra, and Karnataka. The self-confidence of being able to compete with Western producers in the premium or even icon wine segment has probably also influenced consumption - of their own products as well as imported ones.

Wine lifestyle has also been influenced by growing wine tourism, wine tastings, gastronomic events, influencers and trade fairs. “The market has grown significantly, driven by rising consumption among millennials and women”, says Tiwari. Speaking of women, a non-representative survey by the Indian Wine Academy found that around 75% of urban affluent young Indian women drink wine occasionally, with less than a quarter stating that they do not drink alcohol. Drinking wine has become a status symbol in those young, female circles that can afford it – but of course also for young males. However, it is not only the country's upper and upper-middle classes that are being targeted, but increasingly also the lower and middle classes.

Numbers are still small, however. If ‘middle class’ is defined as a daily income of $17-100, in 2021, there were 432m middle class Indians, nearly a third of the population, and well over twice the proportion in 2015. This figure is worth considering against the statistic that only 10m Indians are thought to drink wine frequently.
 

A federal nation with restrictions

Like the USA, India is a federal state – a very large one at almost 3.3m square kilometres – with very different laws in the 36 states or federal territories. This poses logistical challenges for the industry. Importers either distribute or work with local wholesalers. In the states of Gujarat, Mizoram, Nagaland and Bihar, however, alcohol prohibition still (or relatively recently) prevails. But there are also restrictions in other states: the so-called dry days are intended to ensure that the consumption of alcohol does not get out of hand on public holidays or on election days, for example. On the other hand, there is a non-official National Wine Day, which was launched by the Indian Wine Academy in 2017.

Taxes

Imports are subject to tax of 150% by value. Excise duty is another problem. Wine is not subject to sales tax but there are widely varied local state taxes and costs of annual registration in each state for every SKU. These costs mean that a wine that leaves Europe for under €2.75 or the US for $3 ends up costing 1,500 rupees (€16.5 / $18) on an Indian retail shelf. A bottle of Moët & Chandon non-vintage is 7,250 rupees ($86), a similar price to that of Boekenhoutskloof Chocolate Block from South Africa which sells for $30 in the US.  For comparison, a bottle of a local whisky brand such as Royal Stag or Legacy would cost 600-1600 rupees ($9-19).
 

Importers, distributors and retailers

The number of importers in India has grown too, while long-standing importers are holding their own. Munjral Brothers, for example, has been dealing in alcoholic beverages since 1910. Some importers are also active as distributors – such as Dhall, Hema Connoisseur Collections and Brindco. The latter company is very strong in both on- and off-trade throughout India. For some companies, the spirits segment is even more important than that of wines, while others focus strongly on premium wines; Wine Park is one of the latter. With Sula Selections, Sula, the country’s largest winery, also has a subsidiary dedicated to importing European wines.

Other notable importers include Aspri Spirits, Monika Enterprises, Sonarys and VBev. The Online-Wine-Business develops strongly as it was illegal prior to 2020. Wine Park, The Wine Cellar and others are successful in this part of the market. To sell wine in supermarkets is still mostly illegal. The lack of visibility of wine in the daily shopping is probably one of the biggest problems of the Indian wine market. Moreover big wines stores are still not common in smaller and middle size cities but successful in big cities like Bangalore, where Tonique is considered the biggest liquor store in India. Online selling was legalised during the pandemic and is growing, but numbers are still small.

The on-trade

Until recently, in the absence of a strong sommelier community, chefs did much to help popularise Indian fine dining and, by example, boosted wine consumption. Manjunath Mural, who is working in Singapore, is the first chef in Southeast Asia to receive a Michelin star for a restaurant serving Indian cuisine. Gaggan Anand made it onto the 50 Best Restaurants list; he now runs restaurants in the Thai capital Bangkok, but is still very much recognised in India. These chefs and others have modern Indian cuisine can be combined with high-quality wines. Niyati Rao of the Ekaa restaurant in Mumbai, is not only one of the country’s most popular chefs, but also one of the few women in this position.

A few years ago, India had very few qualified sommeliers. Indeed the country’s first Master Sommelier Kamal Malik MS qualified in August 2024, and it is telling that he works in the Maldives rather than India. Others want to follow in his wake, but students aged under 25 are handicapped by not being allowed to taste wines the hospitality schools where they are learning their craft. India’s Sommelier Association was finally launched this year – by Amrita Singh, who is based in Bordeaux.

Another name to watch is Augustine Kingston works with one of the best wine lists in Indian gastronomy at Lupa in Bangalore, and restaurant Trèsind in Mumbai is similarly renowned. Wine bars, wine lounges and dedicated wine restaurants are still not common but can be found mor often than a few years ago. One of the newest outlets is the Captain’s Cellar at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi, while The Oberoi in the same city sets the standard for wine bars, offering an impressive range of wines by the glass. The Shangri La in Delhi has also long been committed to offering a wide selection of wines by the glass.
 

Influencers

It is no wonder that a broad scene of influencers, journalists and consultants has established itself in a rapidly growing market, and it’s not uncommon for the protagonists to combine several functions in one person. Tiwari, for example, is active as an author, sommelier and judge and is the founder of the consultancy Drinks & Destinations. Nikhil Agarwal works as an influencer, judge and author. Sonal Holland, on the other hand, has made a name for herself as India's first and only Master of Wine; she works as a consultant and wine educator. Subhash Arora, India’s longest-established wine authority, is a writer, founder and president of the Indian Wine Academy, and invaluable source of information. Reva K. Singh is founder and editor-in-chief of Sommelier India magazine, readership of which stretches way beyond the on-premise community.
 

Education

The wine education scene started quite late in  India but now seems to be picking up speed with WSET programmes attracting a growing number of students. It is expected that other Indians will follow Sonal Holland in enrolling for the Master of Wine programme.  The Indian School of Beverages launched the first Best Sommelier of India competition in 2024. Kevin Rodrigues from Indian Accent in Mumbai won, Harnil Mathur from Black Sheep Restaurants came second and Shiva Chaurasiya third.
 

Exhibitions and events

ProWein Mumbai (8 to 9 November 2024) is India's most important wine fair alongside Vinexpo India (mid-September 2024). But there are also important wine competitions such as the India Wine Awards, which were launched by Sonal Holland and the delWine Excellence Awards. Like the Indian Wine Academy, the Delhi Wine Club which was also started by Subhash Arora, its president until 2020, organises events and festive wine dinners.