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| Students of IHM-Gurgaon at the Wine Appreciation
Class at IFE- Tasting Theater |
Like a good Bordeaux wine, the IFE-India is maturing
every year and getting better every year, felt the exhibitors
and visitors alike. The wine aspect of the show was
particularly impressive. Thanks to the mature and helpful
attitude of the excise department, tastings have been
possible at the stands this year and the wine and spirits
hall specially erected for the specialty companies proved
such a hit that the last day the crowd became unmanageable
resulting in the show being closed an hour earlier than
the scheduled time.
'The first day was rather dull for us' , says Maureen
Kerleau who was in the wine hall and took part for the
third year in running-only this time through her IFE-inspired
distributor, Gold Star and Shah & Co. Mumbai. 'But
as the people came to know about the special wine hall,
we were extremely busy the next two days. The Guided
Tasting Sessions held in the tasting auditorium also
helped increase the foot-falls and we were able to promote
our region.'
ND Wines, on the other hand felt they would have had
a better response in other halls. Pearls Wines whose
main shipment from Australia was cooling heels at the
customs warehouse due to formalities had to be content
with wine posters with the beautiful sex and a few bottles
of wines they had. 'We hope to be back next year with
many more brands and wines,' claimed Mr. K P Singh,
the project in-charge.
Spanish Marife Blanco, export manager of Navarra based
Bodegas Julian Chivite was nervous initially, but eventually
was very pleased with the enquiries received and feels
she has a distributor in hand. Franco Canciani, the
export manager of Banear, was overwhelmed by the demand
and enquiries generated for his Friuli wines.
The most attractive hall was 'Italy', organised by
the Italian Trade Commission. Giancarlo Lamio, the Trade
Commissioner was extremely pleased with the performance
and was confident that they would take part in a bigger
way next year. With a 43% increase in trade between
Italy and India last year, Nicolo Tossoni, Commercial
Counselor of the Italian embassy was very upbeat about
the success of participation.
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| Giuseppe Monforte, President
of Federexport Piemonte discussing the Show with
Giancarlo Lamio, Italian Trade Commissioner
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Giuseppe Monforte, President of Federexport Piemonte,
which was a part of the Italy pavilion, had mixed reaction.
'I am not very happy with the quality of the people
visiting the show. We have had many enquiries and lots
of tastings but I am not optimistic that these will
produce results.' He hopes to return next year though.
Louisi Molinelli, owner of Molinelli Estate and President
of the Consorzio di Piacenza was very excited perhaps
because Taj Hotel, Diva and the Sheraton loved his wines
and were keen on listing his wines the moment an importer
was appointed.
Finding an importer is not the easiest job at these
shows or otherwise. Cesar Merchàn, from Bodega
Viña Extremeña in Extremadura, Spain had
come for the third time with a break last year. His
company makes some excellent wines but he has still
not been able to find an importer.
The Austria, Spain, Germany, Australia, Sopexa, Turkey
and South Africa also seemed to be extremely busy.
Guided Tasting Seminars
The five seminars on wines from Italy, France, Spain,
World and Sherries of Spain were extremely successful
and well attended. In fact, the Spanish one had people
waiting outside. Another one organised also by the Indian
Wine Academy was for the college students and faculty
of Gurgaon was a hit, with over 70 people attending,
not counting many outsiders listening patiently to Subhash
Arora's preachings on wine and how to appreciate it
better.
What Next
'We are very happy that we have been so well received,'
said Matthew Benyon, MD of Montgomery International,
London who has teamed with Interads Pvt Ltd to organise
this and several other exhibitions. 'We realize there
is plenty more to do but we learn from our mistakes
and do a better job every year. This is also reflected
in the fact that our exhibitor participation and the
trade turnout is increasing every year.
K V Rajeevan who is the MD of Interads Montgomery India
Pvt Ltd., the organiser of the show had to work double
shift as they also held the India Wine Challenge at
Hyatt Regency Hotel with Robert Joseph. With enormous
amount of excise formalities required, this was a daunting
task, which his team was able to manage successfully.
'Next year IFE-India will be back with more exhibitors,
better facilities, more guided wine tastings and seminars
and another edition of India Wine Challenge,' confirmed
Rajeevan.
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