|  This was the second wine conference organised at the IFE India-2006 in conjunction with the Indian Wine Academy. Guest of Honour was Mr H.E. Mr. Rafael Conde, the Spanish Ambassador. H.E. Mr. John Economides, Ambassador of Greece, Mr. Nicolo Tassoni, the Commercial Counsellor at the Italian Embassy, Mr. Anthony Nascimben from Australia and Mr. Subhash Arora, President of Indian Wine Academy were the other panelists. The protagonist of the Show was of course, the well known wine journalist, critic and author Robert Joseph from UK, who gave the keynote address.
Mr. Conde was powerful and hard hitting in his speech. He emphasized the fact that wine was part of the food culture and it was encouraging that Indians were imbibing this lifestyle. Known to throw the best diplomatic parties in town, including the National Day celebrations and popular for his culinary skills, he is a keen promoter of Spanish food and wines and has always encouraged the Spanish producers to come to India.
He was quite critical of the duties still not coming down and the fact that hotels continue to fleece people by usurious mark-ups. 'I refuse to order wine in the hotels at those exorbitant prices, knowing how little they cost and that there are no import duties paid on these wines,' he said.
Mr. Jon Economides, the Greek Ambassador had been hesitant initially to be a part of the panel. Greeks have been giving low priority to food and wine sector for India . But since Greece was participating as a country and also introducing wine, he had decided to participate. He lamented about the Indian culture of 'Johnnie Walker' and 'Johnnie come latelies' to the Indian parties but hoped more people would switch to wine. What seemed to be a tall order only five years ago could become a reality in the next fifty years. But, it was very heartening to taste wines from his country with the delicious dishes prepared by Olive, under their supervision. I am sure these wines will be available at some restaurants before the next edition of IFE rolls out in December next year.
Mr. Nicolo Tassoni, the Commercial Counsellor of the Italian Embassy talked about the penetration of Italian wines and their improved quality and availability. There has been more variety available and the consumers have accepted Italian wines and their diversity in a big way. He affirmed that the promotional campaigns like Fiesta Italiana will encourage more people to drink Italian wines.
 The bright spark of the seminar was Robert Joseph. He was at his fiery self. A total supporter of branded wine sales, he tried to dislodge many existing blocks and myths in the wine market. Everyone listened to him in rapt attention until the Q/A session when a barrage of questions was unleashed. He emphasized that no matter what the wine lovers wanted, it was a ground reality that wine companies were getting bigger and bigger and the branding was the key to survival. No doubt, the market will always remain for some expensive and fine wines but they will become more of niche products, he opined.
He was also quite vocal about the Indian producers going after the French model of wine production although the climate and viticulture practices were different in France . He also wondered why Indians would prefer red wines when India was too hot for reds and whites would be more enjoyable. Wine education was an area where no matter how much efforts you put in, would never be enough, he felt.
Talking of the current wine scenario which spells 'BOOM', Subhash Arora did point out that EU had filed a complaint with WTO and based on an even earlier comment by a senior bureaucrat in the right quarters, the government was contemplating removal or reduction of CVD in the coming budget. While no one can really speculate about such matter, any reduction will bring cheers to wine drinkers, a slight pressure on the domestic producers notwithstanding.
The quality of the seminar was summed up by Naresh Uttamchandani, a participant who is also an importer and had attended the Wine for Asia in Singapore, 'Thanks to Robert, the seminar was absolutely fantastic. I have been to conferences seminars at the Singapore show too but this one beats them all and is better than those I attended,' he admitted. 'Every importer and F&B guy and anyone interested in wine should have been present today. I won't have minded paying for a seminar like this,' he added ecstatically.
We agree. But, perhaps many people have still not heard of him or heard him before! Next year may be a completely different story.
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