In an exclusive interview in Neustadt am Weinstrasse, Germany a couple of weeks ago, Robert Joseph, a fellow judge and one of the directors of the Mundus Vini competition, confirmed that everything was in place for the India Wine Challenge to take place on 25 and 27 January, 2010. Joseph added that a prestigious panel of judges was being put into place and would be released shortly. ‘The panel will include authoritative wine experts from India and abroad,’ he said.
Joseph who has organised over 50 such competitions world wide including the China, Russia and Japan Wine Challenges launched the first two India Challenges that were held in two stages in London and Delhi in 2007 and 2008.
At this time, some journalists had wondered whether India was ready for a competition, but the success of the first two events proved them wrong. Nikki Palun, Marketing and Trade Manager Asia Pacific for De Bortoli Wines, says, ‘after winning the Gold Medal in 2007 we capitalised on the winning medals through creating a marketing campaign to promote the winning wines. These awards were well received due to the calibre of the judges and the international focus of the awards.’
In 2009, the Anglo-Indian joint venture that organised the IFE food and wine fair in Delhi and co-owned the India Wine Challenge with Robert Joseph fell apart and Joseph had to decide between a number of possible alternative partners. When Informa India, organisers of the Taste Fair in Mumbai in January emerged as the ideal partner, it was logical to plan to hold the third Challenge just before that event.
Following the announcement that there might be no 2009 Challenge The SWIC was launched with Steven Spurrier, Chairman of the Wine Society of India, as Chairman. Joseph is not fazed by the arrival of another competition. “We have already proved ourselves. And if I believe in the validity of setting wines against each other in blind tastings, it is only consistent to believe in the validity of wine competitions competing against each other. In the UK, there are now three very healthy wine competitions that collectively attract over 25,000 entries every year! Steven Spurrier is both a friend and someone for whom I have huge respect – and a person against whom I will relish competing”
Robert makes the point that the India Wine Challenge will be a totally independent competition, non-aligned to any producer or importer. My experience in India has been that people have complained about my being partial to one wine or country at the cost of the other. Fortunately, I have been accused pretty evenly by both sides so I know we are maintaining a neutral ground,’ he says with a smile.
“For us, the Challenge is not an academic exercise but an event from which we want producers, distributors and the consumers to benefit. The motive behind the India Wine Challenge is the same as the one we established in the early days of the International Wine Challenge in London: to encourage the consumption by more people of more good wine. That is why we have ensured that the winning wines will get maximum exposure at Taste so that they can be made easily available for tasting to the trade a couple of days after the results are announced. The winners have the exclusive advantage of being showcased to a special closed door panel consisting of key decision makers and VIP buyers relevant to the industry.’
As Nikki Palun of De Bortoli Wines added “Another key reason why we choose to enter our wines in the India Wine Challenge every year is that there are so many new brands entering the young Indian wine market. It can be daunting for the trade and consumers to discern good wines from bad, and prestigious from unknown We use these awards to help promote our brand in India as well as to build excitement and interest around wine segment as a whole,’
Only time will tell how many wine competitions India can sustain, says Robert. It may well be that both can work side by side. Certainly, as in the UK, it seems that many leading importers and producers are already entering both, just as they participate in two or three competitions in London. As Robert Joseph optimistically concludes, ‘the Indian Wine industry and trade are both at a very early stage of their development. I believe that both will become huge and both relish any part I can play in helping them to develop – and the efforts of others who approach the task with the same level of seriousness.’
Subhash Arora |