Moet Hennessy launches Chandon India, says the sparkling wine will be targeted at urban men and women New Delhi: The world’s biggest champagne house, Moet Hennessy, has launched its first “made in India” sparkling wine as it seeks to capture a young, urban and increasingly sophisticated market of drinkers on the subcontinent. The French champagne producer has invested in a new winery in Dindori near western Maharashtra state’s Nashik region, regarded as India’s wine-making heart. Moet, owned by French luxury goods group LVMH, launched its Chandon India NV (non-vintage) Brut last month, saying it aimed to “build the sparkling wine culture” in the country. “Chandon will be targeted at 25-to-35-year-old urban men and women who are interested in embracing an international lifestyle while taking pride in all that’s Indian,” said Jean-Guillaume Prats, president of Moet Hennessy Estates and Wines. The Chandon range will be the first offering from the new Indian Moet Hennessy estate, which must convince whiskey-loving high-end Indian consumers to switch from the grain to the grape.

Prats told AFP that as a foreign company, Indian law prohibits the firm from owning its vineyards “so we source grapes from Nashik farmers”. Nashik, around a four-hour drive northeast of Mumbai, has dozens of wineries and is known as the “Napa Valley of India” in reference to the Californian region famous for its vineyards. Moet, which has also produced a Chandon Brut Rose made from Shiraz and pinot noir for the Indian market, selected an area 565 metres (1,850 feet) above sea level just north of Nashik which boasts lower temperatures and less precipitation than on the coast in order to obtain a high quality grape and produce a crisp and dry brut. While all champagnes are sparkling wines, all sparkling wines are not champagne—that name being legally reserved for wines produced in the Champagne region of France. A nascent market with potential The sparkling wine market in India is still embryonic in size. The wider Indian wine market grows by 15% to 20% a year and should continue to grow at this rate in the coming years, Indian wine consultant Alok Chandra told AFP.

About 18 million litres of wine are sold every year in India but the “sparkling wine market, locally produced or imported, makes up less than 10% of this volume,” Chandra added. Moet also has rivals in the sparkling market. India’s Fratelli Wines group, an alliance of Indian and Italian families, launched its own sparkling wine last month but says it is not expecting immediate big returns. “It’s a nascent market. Patience is necessary,” Fratelli Wines director Kapil Sekhri told AFP. Another player is Sula Vineyards, India’s largest wine company, founded in 1997 in Nashik by a Silicon Valley engineer named Rajeev Samant, who quit his hi-tech job and started a winery. Sula last month came out with three variants of its premium sparkling wines. “Sparkling wine is seen as a celebratory wine (in India) with a wider audience than wine,” said Fratelli’s Sekhri. Moet’s Chandon India NV is made from a combination of chenin blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir.

“We’ve put in place long-term partnerships with farmers who, in turn, work closely with our viticulturists to ensure a superior grape quality,” Prats said.best wine shop in washington dc Savvy marketing techniques, such as sponsorships and wine-tasting events, are crucial for vineyards in India.best red wine consumer reports Advertising alcohol is banned and each state imposes its own, often crippling, taxes and regulation.best nys red wine Over the past decade, Indian wines have become increasingly popular in the country as their quality has improved and the number of wine magazines has mushroomed.best wine for a party 2013 But wine drinking is still largely confined to upmarket bars, hotels and restaurants in cities and affluent private social events.top 10 wine regions in australia

“There is a larger market scope for sparkling wines in India, said Chandra.best luxury wine brands The so-called “bubbles” category in India “has had very little competition,” he added. Moet’s Chandon NV is priced at Rs.1,200 ($19) a bottle, costlier than its nearest rival priced at Rs.950 offered by Sula, which has a dominant share of India’s wine market. But the price is well below the Rs.4,500 per bottle charged for the foreign-made Moet Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne, making it much more affordable for Indian fizzy wine fans. More From LivemintREAD MORE India’s ‘priceless gift’, Isro’s South Asia Satellite, to be launched on 5 May Mahindra Logistics to come out with IPO or do strategic sale in FY19: CEO IIT Roorkee scientists create low-cost solar cells using Jamun RBI’s Viral Acharya calls for reprivatization of nationalized banks Tata-Docomo case: Delhi HC rejects RBI plea, clears $1.17 billion arbitration award

Examining the China-North Korea oil arrangement and how it may not lastDozens of Indian wineries weighed down by debt plan to ask for £20m of government money to help them survive. While wine consumption in India is growing at 30% per year, the state of around 40 small wineries largely based in Maharashtra remains a concern for the industry. The All India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA) has said the survival of these wineries is at risk. It is preparing to ask the new BJP-led government in Maharashtra for 2bn rupees (£20m) on wineries’ behalf. , ‘At this month’s assembly session in Nagpur, Maharashtra, the association intends to submit a proposal to the government to provide 2bn rupees and facilitate a special “one time settlement” for the wine companies who are now facing legal action [relating to] heavy loans borrowed from the banks.’ Some of the wine companies in financial trouble are those who once supplied bulk wines to bigger producers. The problem is generally thought to have started in 2008 after the market leader, Chateau Indage, went bankrupt.

That left a number of smaller wineries and grape growers in trouble. ‘The state government created Wine Park in Nashik to support the small wine producers, but it did not help much,’ said an AIWPA spokesperson. The trade body’s chances of success in seeking government money are far from certain. ‘The planning commission last year rejected the report submitted by National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to support the industry through a financial package,’ the spokesperson said. Lack of money for marketing or distribution means ‘stocks [have] piled up in these 40 wineries, leading to an over-supply of around 200,000 cases’. At the same time as seeking financial aid, the Indian Grape Processing Board, which controls AIWPA, is working to create a ‘Wines of India’ brand name to help promote wineries and their wines. Its marketing sub-committee includes 13 wine companies. India scoops first gold medal in Decanter awards India a ‘slow burn’ for fine wine despite tax hope