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Sunil Prem Says: |
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Hi I wanted to know whether: 1. Wine making at home is legal in India. 2. Selling home "wine making kits" is legal in India Thanks - Col Sunil Prem |
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Siyamalan Says: |
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When some one recommend me Red wine, I don't understand what's the special stuff Red has compared to white.. All the resveratrol benefits are technically unproven One may need to drink a minimum 120 bottles of red to get any minimum benefits of resveratrol. Both red and white does the same to heart(moderate alcohol consumption gives a lubricant coating to blood vessels preventing heart attack). Moderate alcohol consumption reduces LDL. I guess Grenache has more flavonoids than any other red wine White wines might have slightly lesser total antioxidant, but is more effective in reducing LDL. Considering the superoxide-scavenging property, white is as effective as Red. Both give similar antioxidant retaining ability to blood. No one consumes /will consume wine for booze and that is why drinking wine is beneficial to health. Drink what you like.. White or Red.. Doesn't matters Happy sipping siyamalan Comment in response to "preferably red" |
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Dr.Sridhar.k.k. Says: |
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Is anyone is conducting wine making classes in Bangalore city?Please provide me some information! |
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Ivan Says: |
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If Steven spurrier present wines on such a low level than it's not professional to call it jadgement of Paris in moscov .it's just not fair to a French wines.and I will post my notes on this matter later |
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Ivan Says: |
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One second eleonora what jadgment .how you can compare white burgundy with a new world Chardonnay if you take the best white burgundy and the best new world chardonnay the Chardonnay has not a chance they don't age 5 years from now they dead they have no balance not even a hint of complex wine . A good Montrachet or even meursault from winegrowers like Coche duty or CComte lafon will age for 20 30 years while all so call new world Chardonnay will be dead . |
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Vikas Agarwal Says: |
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I Want Information Regarding Wine Bottling In Karnataka.Please,Give Me The Information. From-Vikas Agarwal,Uttar Pradesh |
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Niladri Dhar Says: |
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Great read! China's growth in the international wine market is paradoxical to say the least. No doubt it has shown an immense thirst for quality wines, a closer scrutiny will also reveal that a large part of the growth story was driven by a lot of hype (and Hong Kong). And not to miss the rampant fakery as you have so appropriately underlined. I also wrote on the same subject in my blog some time ago. Isn't it quite interesting that fakery allegations never seem to leave the Chinese? But as a good and 'friendly' neighbour we all should give them the due credit in mastering this art, that too in copying as complex a product as a Bordeaux First Growth! Cheers, Niladri Dhar http://wineideas.wordpress.com/ |
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Alfred Martínez Says: |
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I'm adviser on Spanish food and wine and I can said you that excellent olive oils in 5 l. packaging from Catalonia in Spain and variety Arbequina are sold here in Spain at 5 euro/l. to consumers. Olive oil is an special sector and prioe for huge buyers in this 5 l.plastic packaging (2 l. is also normal) are no much lower than this 5 euro. In glass bottles ( 750, 500 and 250 ml.are the most common mesures ) price is higher. Price for a glass bottle of 500 ml could cost usually from 3 to 4,5 euro -export prices- . Kind regards . Wines Inform Assessors |
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Subhankar Ghosh Says: |
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That's an example of how Italians' excel in marketing EVOO originating from other med countries. Infact, down in Spain there are several D.O. which controls quality & production of some high grade EVOO from Royal and Picual grade olives whereas due to lack of knowledge and awareness - we resort to Pomace and Pure, which are nothing but mixed with low grade Olive Oils but have big fat A&P budgets to market them. |
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Himadri Bal Says: |
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Dear Mr. Subhash Arora, a superb Article about Duty Reduction possibilities , I am completely agreed with you, First of all Central Govt. will not reduce the Duty, If by chance Central Govt. will reduce the duty, Excise Dept. of State Govt. just increase their duty, this is the policy to save the Domestic Wine, But Both Central & State Govt. Should understand, the choice will be set by Customer not by the Govt. Customer will decide, imported or Domestic, what will be his/her choice. Indian Producer will also make also good quality wine & can compete with International Standard wines. Wine price in the hotels will not effect as most of hotels purchase as duty free stock. I am sure no drastic change will happen if customs duty will reduce. |
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Vikrant Kohli Says: |
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kindly let me know about the course duration ,cost and starting time thanks |
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Kawaljeet Singh Says: |
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Dear Mr Arora Greetings of the season; the one which is past and a brighter one coming up soon!! I must confess, that reading through this article of yours reminded me of Prannoy Roys show - The World This Week. a show which I was quite a fan of and much awaited every Wednesdays, 10 PM if Im not mistaken. Your summary of the Indian wine market is astute and the snippets are of great help for the wine fraternity -which unfortunately is highly fragemented compounded by the fact that it is in infancy and in serious need of nurturing..and patronizing..from our ruling masters, amongst the fraternity and most importantly the Indian wine consumer. The future definitely is bright and we at Big Banyan are firm believers in the future of Indian wines, a slow, gritty and patient process. The rounding up of the players in the industry and what they have been upto makes a very interesting reading especially for brands who do not have pan india presence and daily market interactions with our counterparts from other parts of the country... Keep up the writing.. Cheers Kawaljeet Head Marketing, Big Banyan Wines. |
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N Ramakrishna Babu Says: |
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we have a fine dining restaurant in bangalore we are thinking to introduce wine bar in our restaurant. N.Ramakrishna Babu The Baagha Multicuisine Restaurant Bangalore. |
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Janis MacDonald Says: |
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Hello, Anderson Valley Winegrowers Assn hosts an Int"l Alsace Varietals Festival in Feb. The festival focuses on aromatic white wines and is the only festival of its type in US. This may be f interest to your readers. Would you like more info? www.avwines.com |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Thanks a lot Pramod. I appreciate your comments which are quite motivating.
Subhash
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Pramod Krishna Says: |
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Hi Subhash,
You website is simply fantastic.
I was planning my travel for next years shows & got the info in one shot !
Cheers
Pramod Krishna |
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Steven Spurrier Says: |
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Dear Subhash, I saw the comment but don't have a second to comment on it as I am off to France tomorrow at crack of dawn and am trying to catch up on stuff. Basically, one can only compare what is available and I thought the selection was very comparable. I think that it is a bad habit of people to comment on things that have been well-organised and have had an interesting result and yet they still seem to think that with their advice the results might have been even more interesting!
Best wishes, Steven.
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Eleonora Says: |
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Hi Subhash,
If you read carefully, the objective of the event was not to fight ‘a battle of giants’, nor to have winners and losers, but to provide an even playing ground for wines from various winemaking areas to evaluate their current quality. Chardonnays and Cabernets were presented from around the globe. All wines were of premium quality, and having them in the same price range was the fairest criterion, at least from a consumer perspective.
Your personal doubts may tell you one thing, but it is totally wrong to present them as facts. I will not speak for Steven Spurrier – he said he would share his impressions on the Moscow tasting in his Decanter column – but I can attest to the range of premium wines in Russia which is wide and diverse. Steven decided in which price range the wines should be, and his choice was based on an ample offer. As the event was staged in Russia and was intended for the Russian wine lovers, it was only logical to select wines that are available in this country and are accessible to a good number of consumers. Of course, a tasting with the finest wines could be organised – but then the Russians would be accused of being too extravagant! And, by the way, they prefer to drink European wines than those of New World.
Perhaps, the organisers should have published the scores to give an idea if how individual wines performed. I don’t have the syndicated scores, but generally the spread was narrow. Eleonora |
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Talal N Says: |
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Greetings, We are very much interested in producing Wine without alcohol in Lebanon, and it was highly recommended to us that you could help us with the process to find the proper equipment needed. We will very much appreciate it if you can please help us regarding this matter and if you are interested to do a JV with us, or if you will please recommend someone else. Regards, Talal N. intervest2@hotmail.com |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Chris, I think when you talk of MRP, you are concerned about wine and liquor where retailers are NOT allowed to sell below MRP in many states-like Delhi. Otherwise, there is no binding on the retailer to stick to MRP. In fact, stores like Big Bazar have been thriving on giving deals to the customers and selling at less than MRP. No doubt, there are several pluses in the modernisation through FDI but the government has been dilly-dallying around it and did not convey the message to the public or communicate its benefits with the political opposition. In any case, it looks like it will be on hold for a while-and as you rightly said the poor farmer is the biggest loser <and also the wine industry if I may add!> Subhash |
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Chris Pohl Says: |
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Hi Subhash.FDI in Retail = Fools Deliberate Ill Logic. How nice, and good it would be for the country if right politics could be made and popular politics would be put aside! Fooling the Masses will sure secure votes – but is a counter productive measure. Would it not be better to inform and educate the masses of the benefits those investments would bring – cash into the economy. Would it not be clever to take the knowledge those operators have and make use of it like M&S does working with its farmers helping them grow cost effective – minimizing post harvest waste – that alone would reduce costs – and indeed cut out the ineffective middle link in the supply chain that adds no value whatsoever, just costs and gets it to the consumer faster, fresher and assures the farmer at better price the they get currently.
Take an example of the organic cotton farming projects in Tamil Nadu.Those retail giants don’t operate with robots, they need people too, lots of people. All the auxiliary services too will need lots of people – those are the things we need to explain to the masses. The one that will get the greatest benefit is the Farmer – as it has been proven in many countries across the world. The corner shops will NEVER disappear but will be there FOREVER! Maybe, not as many as currently but hell some of those so-called shops are just holes in the wall anyway.
Strangely, one does not see or hear any complains from the large retail operators – those would be the most affected one. Is it because they are already in the starting blocks to ink in JV with the retail giants that would like to enter the market? My particular experience in Retail, both as a supplier and as a retailer, is ONLY in Food and Beverages and the examples from those sectors. The fear of higher prices is of course a real one – but it is NOT because of FDI in retail but the present pricing Scenario must change.
Why is nobody pointing out the out dated MRP System. The consumer gets NO benefit under the present MRP system – the margins are only made by the Retailers squeezing their suppliers for more discount on MRP, longer payment cycles and other obscure charges, which are of NO benefit to the consumer whatsoever. The consumer pays the same price at a modern retail outlet or the Kirana Shop around the corner. There are no free lunches for the consumer and when retailers give specials they are costed in to actual product before making the actual product costlier than it should be. The cumbersome pricing system sees to it.
Where is the differentiation between one retailer and the other, certainly not in the merchandise – everyone has basically the same. Suppliers have difficulty making special deals with retailers because of MRP – Retail in India could never have a Penny Market or an Aldi or low value retailer – the same product from the same manufacturer carries the same price, because of MRP. There is no room for “Stack them high and sell them Cheap” concept! Every product has by nature its own MRP – but it should be driven by the consumer – when the consumer sees value in the product – this product will be purchased – if not the product will fail and the supplier/retailer chain will than be driven to be have the right prices for the right product. When there is an open market policy we all will benefit and that includes the revenue masters.
Having Foreign Direct Investment into retail would help with changes. Changes on the retail front have happened, but because of the system funding has become more and more difficult as margins are not met – so say hello and thank you for the influx of capital. Use the local financial resources for infrastructure development – embrace Foreign Direct Investement. Chris Pohl |
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Stile Mediterraneo Wine Tours Puglia Italy Says: |
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I am really pleased to read this article! Thank you so much for writing it. Puglia wines are becoming more and more popular outside of Italy because of the very high quality to price ratio. International consumers still dont know much about these wines, so these events are really helpful. Once people get to taste the Southern Italian wines they really love them! At least this my experience after conducting wine tours in Puglia and Southern Italy in the past 7 years. Thank you for the article! cinzia italycookingcourses.com |
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Hervé Lalau Says: |
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Now that Mr Miller has resigned, I think most of the story is over. Wine is all that counts, in the end. Hullo to India and a god day to you my friend. |
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Bernard de Laage Says: |
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Dear Subhash,
I am very glad to read your article on the reception at the French Embassy and even more about the passion for wine that our new Ambassador in your country has shown!!
Just back from India where I unfortunately missed you, I found that the market for fine wines is still there, ready to develop, but blocked by many restrictions, and among them the level of the duties and taxes. Reading your article, it came to my mind that I will suggest and offer our Ambassador to hold a Chateau Palmer dinner at his residence next time I come to India.
Congratulations again for your excellent newsletter
With my best regards
Bernard de Laage
Chateau Palmer |
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Mauss François Says: |
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Gee !Your last paper is first class ! Be sure I fully appreciate such a sense of journalism professionalist ! My warmest best, Francois. |
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Kumar Shobhan Says: |
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The deal of 800 plus tax for a glass of laurent perrier is available in all outlets from 5 pm to 8 pm. And it is still on.
Thank you.Regards.Kumar Shobhan
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Madhavi Pangare Says: |
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Dear Sir, I want the international standards or oiv regulations for export of wines oversease. thank you regards Madhavi |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Hi Herve, to my mind there was no talks on the topic. But Parker's tasting was great and quite memorable for us non-French. Subhash |
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Lalau Says: |
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Hi Subhash! Seems the venue was great. Did they speak about the trips Mr Campo has been organizing for Jay Miller in Spain, which the visited wineries or regions had to pay? Now it is a hot topic here in Europe, especially as Mr . Parker is so adamant on critics' independence |
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Belliappa A S Says: |
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Hi I would like to attend winery course in bangalore , where in I can learn the art of making wine from a reputed institute . Could you brief me about the same ? |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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As I sent the article for publication from Italy, came the news last thursday that the government has finally allowed 51% partnership for the foreign supermarket chains like Wal-Mart (FDI). Opening of these stores will be subject to certain rules and the permission to be given by each state. Let us hope the government also agrees to the reduction of taxes on wines. Arora |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Leo Deviroy Brut NV has since been marked down further to 13 quids by Tesco. Arora |
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Debra Meiburg MW Says: |
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Interesting profile. Enjoyed very much! |
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Sidd Banerji Says: |
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Illustrious example of a brilliant reporting.Platform to learn and amass huge,huge rare elements of the field.Gratefully proud to be part of the creation.Regards. |
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Sidd Banerji Says: |
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Another great learning session.Another salvo of brilliant lessons,this time on wines and wine glasses.Congrats!!Subhash. |
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Debra Meiburg MW Says: |
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Thank you Subhash, for drawing attention to our booming Hong Kong market! Much appreciated! Robert, copies of the book can be ordered at: www.DebraMasterofWine.com |
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Magalie Nay Says: |
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Dear All, If you are interested the re is the World Wine Symposium at La Villa D'Este, close to Milan in Italy. Great event as well; Please have a look on the website: www.davosofwine.com |
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Ashok Shah Says: |
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Thank you Sir for your reply. |
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Siyamalan Says: |
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A missed opportunity. Unfortunately.. |
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Andre Says: |
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I would like to know who in India would be interested in a joint venture marketing our wines in India.Should you know of anyone please supply me with detail.Regards Andre |
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Ashok Shah Says: |
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who is normally invited for such events? |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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You will need to contact organisers. I had nothing to do with the event but was invited to present the 2 seminars. I think you should have been invited. Maybe next year. Subhash Arora |
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Ashok Shah Says: |
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How come we never come to know about such events? |
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Randhir Patel Says: |
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Subhasji, Your article on Italian Wine Tasting Seminar is interesting.More interesting and symbolic was your title of Wine Attack on Mumbai (TAJ) by Italian Terroirists .Its really wonderful, very deep!Bravo. |
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Pradeep Nair Says: |
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Interesting reading that Ch d'Ori is in its declining phase. Since being passionate about starting a winery unit in Southern India, would you suggest some contacts from where i can source the machineries for setting up the unit or dismantling set up loss making units. Thanks n Regards, Pradeep Nair |
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Dharti Desai Says: |
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Dear Subhash, Thank you for your article announcing the much deserved promotion of Craig to COO of FWM. As discussed this morning, it is unfortunate that we could not connect. Just a few corrections:
1) I will not be taking a complete back seat as FWM is my baby and we still have a long way to go, but I am very happy to give leadership to Craig who has been with FWM for 3 years plus now and is equally if not more passionate, about our vision and philosophy. He will continue to consult with me, but will be completely independent in the day to day running of the company. We are working on some very interesting developments for the growth of the company and I am more focused on that since the last 6 months and will be at least for the next one year.
2) FWM will complete 5 years in January 2012. It’s amazing how time has flown.
3) David is not in charge of FWM India sales, nor of Fratelli sales. This is erroneous. He is simply a senior sales person in charge of Mumbai territory. Craig will continue to lead the all India sales team.
Best regards,
Dharti Desai | Founder & CEO
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Thanks for the comments. It was actually a revelation for most of us. Interesting! But I must add we taste blind, i.e., without knowing the name of the producer. So we didn’t know who the producer was. Subhash Arora |
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Bryan J. Dodd Says: |
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Hello I think your article is very interesting and happy to see you mentioned our Muscadine wine entries (CDG Wines- Cypress Bend Vineyards). We (CDG Wines/Cypress Bend Vineyards) entered 3 different entries of the Muscadine grape, however i need to add a correction about the grape in your article- this grape, the muscadine is native to American South eastern soil (mainly NC coast- sandy loam) and was the first grape cultivated in the US by european explorers/settlers.
The Muscadine is its own variety known as VITIS Rotundifolia. European Explorers discovered the grape in abundance back in the 1500's in North Carolina and documented in many historical documents.
North Carolina claims credit as the place where muscadines were first discovered, citing a 1524 log book of French navigator Giovanni de Verrazano, who was exploring the Cape Fear River Valley, as the first recorded account of the grapes(Anon, 2000). Our winery Cypress Bend Vineyards offers these exclusive Muscadine wines. www.cdgwines.com has more info in our brochure- it is a flash website, so it will take some time to load.
We will be at the Hong Kong Wine fair in November under the USA- SUSTA area.
Nonetheless we hope you enjoyed the wine- this was 100% pure Muscadine grape wine, so it was at its true essence- although served chilled is better.Best Regards,
Bryan J. Dodd
President
CDG Wines |
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Pradeep Nair Says: |
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Hi, I am interested to setup a wine manufacturing facility in Karnataka and would request your (1) opinion on starting one (2) plant designing people. Could you pls. advise. Rgds, Pradeep Nair |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Unfortunately not good- in my view. If the company is wound up there may not be any money coming to the FD holders. If the company survives- it is possible. Chances of revival are very dim though. Good luck! Arora |
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G V Bhagwat Says: |
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What is the exact position of INDAGE VINTNERS LTD against refund of fixed deposit. thanks and regards. |
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Tarsillo Says: |
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When I reached Delhi this morning I could not believe how much Delhi Airport Duty Free prices have been jacked up! Since they are in $ there is no excuse other than the greed of the sole operator (also abroad mainly airports have just one duty free operator): I miss the healthy competition of ITDC and the other(s) as it used to be before. May be they are trying to bank on the F1 crowd, as all passengers are dumb! 1st of all, let's see how many foreigners will actually show up; despite the frenzy that has caught Delhiites ain't sure it will translate in numbers, but let's hope for the best, FORCE INDIA (by Sahara...) |
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Sidd Banerji Says: |
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Had my first peep into Chinese wine world.Nicely done article,usual with Delwine.Cheers,yours in wine world. |
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Sidd Banerji Says: |
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What a report.What astyle in presentation.Not only we,the new wine writers should learn,general language lovers should also find lots in it.Yours in wine world. |
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Sidd Banerji Says: |
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Every time I get into your articles,I simply get swayed with a unique feeling.Extraordinary collection of facts and figures with interesting punch of language in the most lucid terms. Hats off again for the article/blog on Ethos,Chandigarh.Much to learn.much to be happy just reading your lines. I do not know how I came across the article so late.It is dated early August.The value of gold anyway,do not diminish with passage of time though. |
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Sidd Banerji Says: |
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No wonder,I have been on a continuous basis impressed by your language equally as your contents.The article related to Chilean wine tasting was a learning course.It was a class I attended.Shall keep very close to my heart. I am sure we are soon to see a compilation of Subhash's articles,notes and ideas for wine knowledge.Regards. |
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Naveen Navatheep Says: |
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Dear Mr Arora, Im Naveen Navatheepan, Indian Origin from southern part of India. Im Living and working in the French Part of Swiss for pas 6 Years and approx 20 years in Europe. Since my recent visits to different parts of India and my local contacts here, i got an idea of Marketing Some Finest Wines from the Swiss's most Prestigious wine producing part to accross India. I came to know about your identity by surfing through on net. I wonder if you could help guide and forward some contacts in this area in India? Best regards Naveen Navatheepan tel: +41 78 815 3002 |
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Chris Pohl Says: |
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Dear Subash, I think there is another lesson we can learn from chosen home country South Africa. We have started exporting wine to South Africa now too and what an importer can and must do is to get a permit to import samples - DUTY FREE, copy of the same are with me. We are now send 180 liters of wine in 750ml bottles = 30 cases there. The only cost is goods and transport for us and clearing charges for the importer but no other duties. Thereafter two bottles of each variety will be tested and certification issued. The importer must also have an import permit allowing him to import wine. So a country on the dark continent - 5th or 6th biggest producer of wine has importer friendly rules, low cost to get the wines approved and thus allowing the consumer to have a wide variety of superb South African Wine and any other wine from across the globe. There is nothing wrong with inspections - they are all good for us but heck to have to pay duty on samples for testing is just par for the course!!! For us it is just one more of those issues that take the fun out of business, batter the consumer with ever increasing prices for good wine, and cheap plonk alike and excellent wine will just stop from coming in. Its a nigh-mare and minefield out there and who is the one that suffers most is the consumer!!! Regards Chris |
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Rajeev Samant Says: |
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Subhash - it needs to be noted here that the EU has exactly the same rules. In fact Indian wine exporters have been facing horrendous hardships with consignments to the EU, notably to Germany. Each wine has to be tested, adding an almost unviable cost for each consignment. In this case whatever is being proposed is merely a reciprocal arrangement it looks like. Much better that the EU and India negotiate these rules away for wines being shipped in both directions! |
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Yegas Naidoo Says: |
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Good evening to you. Just a quick note to inform you that I enjoyed reading your article on wines made in China " By the Grace of China ". It was informative , balanced and enlightening in more ways than one. Kind regards. Yegas |
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Marc Perelló Colomer Says: |
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Dear Subhash, Nice article about Judy Leissner and her wines ‘Grace Vineyards’… shame for me that is not mentioning our JV wines between Grace & Torres, range Symphonies, with a huge success in Main Land China, named last 2 years the best Chinease wine!… I think Mr.John Salvi missed it! Thanks. Marc |
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Charles Metcalfe Says: |
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Excellent piece by John Salvi, the man who set me on the path to appreciation of fine Bordeaux wines. Informative about Grace Vineyard, and offering useful insights into the Chinese wine market as well. |
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Nish D Kotecha Says: |
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Dear Subhash
I trust you are keeping well. Firstly I would like to thank you for the excellent job you are doing in keeping us informed about the market in India, even though we have currently stopped trying to enter the market due, legislation, duties, levies, and complexities of supply.Reading your article on the new regulations on sampling just highlighted further why we have taken a step back from trying to enter the market. As you know we have been in the wine business for over 20years in the UK and there are very strict controls in quality here too. However it is far more streamlined with the acceptance of the a certificate of analysis from country of origin, though it would have to be from government approved independent labs in that country. I hope FSSAI will sort out these issues for the good wine in India! Look forward to seeing you at a tasting soon! Kind regards NISH KOTECHA |
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Nitin Arora Says: |
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Dear Sir, I want to join Wallmart For AS a store manager or team leader .. I have a 5 year in retail sector. so plz contact if any opening ASAP Here is my email id.... nitin_4111@yahoo.co.in Contact soon for the same
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Adrienna Zsakay Says: |
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Dear Mr. Subhash Arora,
You recently posted a notice on your website titled "New spoke in Wine Importer's Wheel" ( http://www.indianwineacademy.com/item_6_473.aspx ) and at the bottom you have Chapter 22 as a reference. This document provides details of the HS Code, Item Description, Policy and Policy Conditions. It would be easy to interpret the document as the HS Codes and Tariff Rates - all which provide a status of free.
Can you please provide details of how you came across this document? I am attaching my own version of Chapter 22 and as you can see, there are significant differences between your Chapter 22 and my Chapter 22. Just thought I'd let you know on case you made a mistake.
If you don't mind I have provided a summary of your article to my newsletter and a link to your website.
Yours sincerely
Adrienna Zsakay |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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There you pay $400 and we paid under $50 a person!! Even the 2 glasses of Champagne we had are worth more than what we paid, I think. But then we are Delhi Wine Club!!I am glad you enjoyed the evening, Anurag- as everyone else who came, did. Because of the limited seats available, I could not sing and dance too much about the wines in my mails to members as there would have been a big line of requests. But its a pity and amusing to me that many members did not realise the importance of this dinner- it was definitely one of the top 2 dinners for us in 9 years, in terms of wines served (Gaja was another).There were even last minute cancellations! We shall keep on trying to raise the bar as much as possible, making sure we continue to have fun at the evening. Did you notice they sell non-refundable tickets for such dinners? This means 100% cancellation charge, payable in advance!! Subhash |
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Anurag Mehrotra Says: |
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Subhash, I received this invitation for a special wine dinner with Vega Sicilia wines on 19th October and see the price of the dinner!! $400 per person!!! Thanks a ton for giving me the opportunity to try the wonderful wines. Regards, Anurag. |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Arun, In all fairness, the article in TOI had nothing to do with the young lady-she does not even know it appeared! It was lifted by the paper from a news agency, which is a standard practice. They could have been slightly more discerning in selecting the article because most readers would think it was written by their staffer. Your reasoning is very valid and I see examples of this several times. Subhash |
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Jean Albert Rauld Says: |
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Dear Subhash, Always interested in knowing about your experience with the Chilean wines in India. Trying to learn more about the profile of wines that India likes. I hope to be aware of more activities where you are invited about Chilean wines. I am interested in comunicate to the propper people about improvements that can be done to those events. Regards from Chile, Jean Albert |
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Arun Batra Says: |
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Well done Subhash. I saw your blog on ‘mind your language’ –I couldn’t agree with you more - this is typical of these large news agencies –they depute newbies to cover events resulting in the howlers you have pointed out.
But what is surprising was that this was published in the TOI on Sat 24th and that woman in the sari -who is their nightlife editor was present at the function. She told me she had done courses in wine and in food journalism in New York but by the end of the article TOI had egg on its face !!
Arun |
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Frank Wilden Says: |
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A most interesting article on wines-by the-glass and one which naturally mentions the issue of wastage and its cost to both the consumer and the venue.
I noted your comments about the enomatic system which is an excellent product for those who require a preservation and dispensing solution.
Our product winesave® - www.winesave.com - uses the same anti-oxidant - argon - and the results are not surprisingly, outstanding. We are now the system of choice in many of the world's best restaurants as our product does not require the purchase of proprietary hardware and/or installation. Instead we offer the convenience of a disposable recyclable can, which has been acclaimed by some of the wine world's most prominent people as a superb solution. We do have an importer in India Mohan Brothers. Kind regards. Frank Wilden, Vinotech Australia |
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Alfonso Cevola Says: |
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Lovely article... The statement, "What were both D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. are now both D.O.P." could you elucidate? Thank you @italianwineguy |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Hi Girish. Yes, you are reading too much in between the lines. I did mention that Concerto Collection could be part of your strategy to establish the premium brand. If you are talking of remaining a small player making quality wines only but at high prices, that is your prerogative. But we also need the numbers to go up and that is where you needed to bring out this new line. My feeling is that you would perhaps need to bring another line at even lower price points in future but that depends on your business plans. Concerto Collection has no competition in India. More the discerning people with deep pockets you can tap, the more you will sell. But I would like to see much higher numbers and deeper distribution from professionals like you. Subhash |
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Girish Mhatre Says: |
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Subhash, thanks for carrying this announcement about our new line of wines, but I do have one minor carp: Perhaps I’m reading too much between the lines, but I must say that I found the tone of some of your comments somewhat confusing. It sounds like you are saying that we got our comeuppance for daring to create quality, high priced wines in India. That is why I have to hasten to add that we are not retreating from the premium end in the least. This new line is a brand extension. The Concerto Collection – Basso and Brio – is doing quite well, over two vintages now. We have attracted a very loyal following among the cognoscenti. It is also selling well in NY and DC. Having product at various price points was always part of our strategy. We chose to start at the top (to establish a differentiated brand presence, a quality image and industry relationships) and then to migrate down the pricing curve, rather than the opposite. |
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Chintamani Rao Says: |
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Thank you, Subhash. The restaurant trade in India -- especially in 5-star hotels, sadly -- does not help the growth of wine consumption, by charging preposterous prices in the first place. |
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Abhay Says: |
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Subhash, Just to clarify,on the point of lukewarm response from wine experts.There is just one journalist who has expressed his apprehension about quality,as it comes from unknown country for wine like India. Nobody has really written negative about wines having. tasted them prior. Waitrose has a team of qualified Wine Masters,and they put their money where their palate is. To me that supersedes all. The response from 150 participants in 'Saturday Kitchen Live' says it all. Regards, Abhay
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Sebastien Papin Says: |
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Such a true article. Keep up the good work. Best, Sebastien |
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Abhay Says: |
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Subhash, Just to clarify,on the point of lukewarm response from wine experts.There is just one journalist who has expressed his apprehension about quality,as it comes from unknown country for wine like India. Nobody has really written negative about wines having. tasted them prior. Waitrose has a team of qualified Wine Masters,and they put their money where their palate is. To me that supersedes all. The response from 150 participants in 'Saturday Kitchen Live' says it all. Regards, Abhay |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Thanks Dr. Baxter. I am an anti smoker and anti alcohol person. But I strongly believe from the numerous studies I have read that what you say is correct and 2 glasses a day of red wine are great for men over 40. I have met Dr. Curt Elison at a couple of Heart and Health Conferences at Napa. Frankly to me as an outsider the whole report sounded like a lobby. We normally don't publish email and URL of our readers who send us their comments. But I have not only published the link but now am giving a direct URL link for the readers to click once and get the other side- which I believe is the true side, of the picture. By the way, Dr. Elison suggests women take Folate pills to bring the risk of breast cancer from drinking a couple of glasses of wine by women to practicaly nil. I often recommend the same to my friends and female readers. In India, the strip of 10 tablets costs less than 10 cents!!
www.healthandwine.blogspot.com Subhash |
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Dr Baxter Says: |
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As the author of the book "Age Gets Better with Wine" I too have reviewed the scientific evidence extensively and have come to a different conclusion (more on my blog post yesterday at www.healthandwine.blogspot.com). It is abundantly clear that drinking up to 2 glasses of red wine daily is healthier than not drinking. Thank you Subhash for your comments. |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Yes, that is correct. Subhash Arora |
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Prateek Arora Says: |
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Hello! Just a small correction. If I remember correctly, Gary Vaynerchuk would be present only via a web-conference and not in person. Could you kindly confirm that please? Thanks Prateek |
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Kskarnic Says: |
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Although wine clubs are doing their bit to popularise wine consumption, this club culture a symbol of British raj has to go if one realy wants wine bussiness becomes profitable for the indeginous wineries and as well the wine grape growers. Bussiness will improve when common man would take to wine consumption without any elitist feeling and wine industry cna prosper. Our wine industry is not dependent on miniscule club members.I apologise if this hurts some but this is the fact. |
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Mahendra BhamareSays: |
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hats of you subhashaji about your efforts of wine awareness programs & through your news letter. regards mahendra bhamere ceo prathamesh wine pvt. litd & vp AIWPA |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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I thought you had conducted Level 2. I had made some enquiries-but within India. I am glad you have clarified. Subhash. |
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Stephen Mack Says: |
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Hi Subhash I am afraid that this is not the first time a WSET Level 3 course has been held in India. As the CEO of Asia Wine Service & Education Centre (AWSEC) and Asia's only WSET Level 4 Diploma course tutor, I personally conducted such a course in Delhi in June 2011. In fact, you and I shared a glass of Sherry during a break in the course. Clearly I failed to make you aware that it was a WSET Level 3 course that I was running and I am now happy to correct my mistake. I am delighted to inform you that 8 students passed the WSET Level 3 course with 2 achieving Pass with Distinction and 5 achieving Pass with Merit, results which reflect very highly on the standard of wine students in India. AWSEC looks forward to continuing to pioneer wine education in India by being the first WSET course provider to run the WSET Level 1 and Level 2 course in Wine Service. Anyone interested in joining our courses is welcome to email me direct on stephen@awsec.com |
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Lisa Says: |
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Kendall Farms is a supplier of premium wine grape product, specializing in WA State. We try to accommodate all customer's needs. We ship bulk wine year round in totes, tankers and containers. We can do custom labeling and customer bottling according to our customer's needs.
We ship fresh grapes and juice during harvest. Please contact us for further information. |
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Surjit S. Kamboj Says: |
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Dear Subhash, No doubt, the wine tasting session of the Washington State Wine Commission was a very well professionally organised event , coupled with the fine hospitality of The Oberoi,Delhi, it would have been more appropriate and relaxing had it been conducted with a seating arrangements. Overall, the experience was excellent and I must appreciate the efforts made by the representatives of WSWC for handling the wine tasters with so much patience and explaining about their products in a very cool manner. We need to also commend the efforts of Gaurav of Wine Forays. Surjit Kamboj, Dir (Corp Affairs), Duethotels
Thank you, With best regards Surjit S. Kamboj |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Thanks Dan. Minor correction. 7 years ago, the customs duty was 100%. But there was ACD-Additional Customs Duty which made the effective taxes to around 420%. With pressure from the US and EU and the imminent legal case in WTO, the customs duty was increased to 150% (within WTO limit) and later 4% (refundable) special duty was added on the total landed cost, making it 160%, but the ACD was scrapped. So far so good. But the states went ballistic and increased excise duties-Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Goa, Chennai-you name it! (Haryana, HP and Punjab are sane exceptions). Maharashtra came down the high horse after a couple of years but Delhi did not relent. I totally agree with you that wine and spirits have to be delinked. In fact, I publicly challenged a minister when he said at a national seminar that the goernemtn had done it. But I do not have any doubts whatsover that things will change for the better eventually. They already have improved significantly. My only disappointment is that the pace is too slow and there is a lot of confusion in the minds of lawmakers. Subhash |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Thanks Tony. You are slightly wrong- Excise Duty actually went up this year in Delhi!! Especially on more expensive wines, though it should have been the other way around. And the new policy was delayed on a wekly basis for 3 months!! The market could still develop more steadily if procedures were streamlined. THAT would not be in the interest of the bureacrats so they keep on interpretting the policies frequently. There is no clarity or sense of direction, at times. My Americal journalist friends and importers tell me theat the procedures are very complicated there too-perhaps even more than India (think Prohibition!). But they are well known and documented. So the intersted people know what they have to deal with and can plan accordingly. I agree totally that wine education is extremely important and in my own humble way and style, I have been doing just that for 10 years now. But this is a time consuming process and will go way beyond my lifetime. Subhash |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Thanks Harshal. I had to restrain myself from giving statistics and figures because that would drown away the basic flavour and purpose of the Blog. If you read delwine regularly, the exact duties are mentioned along with the office order regularly in hordes of articles and they are perhaps still on the website. If there is anything I have mentioned in the Blog which is not correct, you are welcome to address. Subhash |
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Subhash Arora Says: |
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Very simple, my dear Watson. I picked up ‘honey’ from the song where the lyricist tells the girl after she has shot,’ honey, what have you done?’ My implied stress is on ‘what have you done’. To me Debra Meiburg is also the Hong Kong Wine Queen. I mentioned her only so our Indian readers know they are two MWs in HK of the same vintage-not that the year of entry to the Institute of Masters of Wine is really that important. And remember, Jeannie is the protagonist in my Blog. I didn’t want to take the highlight away from her. Cheers, Subhash |
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David Furer Says: |
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Valid arguments, useful info, but I'm perplexed as to why you saw fit to refer to Ms. Lee with the diminutive "honey" and refer to Ms. Meiburg in postscript, as she wasn't mentioned previously.
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Tony Devitt Says: |
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Dear Subhash, It was maybe a year or so ago I blogged that taxes in India were greatly impeding development of the wine market and obviously little has changed. It doesn't matter whose are highest, they are impeding market development. China is not the panacea everybody thinks it is. Sure some premium wine is bought on image, but generally it is still a very opportunistic market where price (cheap) is still a major driver as many "importers" still see opportunity to ramp up prices, make quick money and hang any interest in educating the consumer or developing long term relationships with exporters. There are of course exceptions to this, but at the moment very much in the minority. So what is the solution. Firstly wine education of trade and consumers is number one by miles and then as occurs in most democracies Government needs to get out of the way of market development. It is great that India is a democracy but the bureaucracy must be stifling. Best wishes, Tony. |
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Dan Traucki Says: |
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Subhash- I agree with you that the progress to a much more open wine market in India will be very slow and I think it will be rather painfull for may in the Wine Industry, both domestic producers and overseas suppliers. When I was in India 7 years ago, all the talk at the time was the possibility of the government lowering the 150% duty on imported wines- today, it is still talk! The other BIG issue for overseas wine producers is finding a licenced importer who has any empathy with wine, most of the limited number of businesses who have an alcohol import licence are almost totally focused on Spirits and hardly give wine a thought. The real crux of the matter is the fact that the Indian Government treats wine in the same way it treats spirits rather than treating it seperately. It is sad that the government does not see that a susbtantial shift from hard liquor to wine would have significant benefits for India in improving health and reducing alcohol related issues. Hopefully one day they will see the light, reduce taxes and duties to a reasonable level and then one won't have to go to international hotels in order to enjoy a good glass of wine in India.We live in hope cheers Dan Traucki MWCC
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Harshal Shah Says: |
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Subhash, perhaps you can clarify exactly what the state Excise rates are in the major wine-consuming states in India. There seems to be a lot of huffing and puffing of opinion above (granted, it is a blog), but there is very little hard data with which you could have backed your views. If Jeannie's informatoin is incorrect, perhaps you could provide us with the correct data. HS |
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