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Priced at Rs. 275 each in the Mumbai market, Zinzi white has been produced
from a blend of Chenin Blanc (80%), and Sauvignon Blanc (20%). The wine
is off-dry with a residual sugar level of 11 gms/liter but 'the sugar
is well balanced with acidity making it a nicely flavoured wine,' asserts
Abhay Kewadkar, VP and Chief winemaker of UB
Wines- the wine division of UB spirits, a Vijay Mallya group company.
The red is a blend of Zinfandel, Shiraz and Cabernet; the first two
give the fruitiness while the Cabernet gives the structure and body. Grapes
for their wines have been sourced from contracted farmers.
Zinzi is being positioned to compete against Madera, Sante, and Figuera
wines, says Abhay. Chatting with Subhash Arora in Delhi, he explained,
' Zinzi is meant for the young consumer, which includes novices too. That's
why we have a young and lively label.' Elaborating on the pricing strategy,
he said, 'We feel that the wines made from grapes costing Rs.25-Rs.35
Kg should be available to people at affordable price and decided to keep
our margins low to bring out ours at these attractive prices.'
Since it is not always possible to finish an entire bottle in a sitting,
'we have also introduced a 375 mL bottle at Rs.140. We shall also come
out with a 187 mL bottle in a month's time,' informs Abhay.
UB sold 250 cases on the first day of the launch. It proposes to sell
150,000 – 250,000 bottles - appx. 15,000 cases, in this fiscal year.
It is an ambitious target achievement of which will depend upon how soon
they are able to handle the government red tape and get the wine distributed
in the national market, says Abhay.
Next fiscal, they hope to sell 400,000 bottles, over 33,000 cases. Four
seasons to be launched in February should add 600,000 bottles to their
sales figures, thus giving them an ambitious target of over 83,000 cases
in the first year of full operations.
As already reported earlier, UB plans to export 10% of their production,
primarily to UK, France and New Zealand.
Subhash Arora
Januray 12, 2008
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