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 Till a few months ago, there used to be a small Indian wine section where the display of ‘Sette’ by Fratelli used to be quite impressive and had even been increased since my earlier visits. However, at $52 it was twice as expensive as the street price of Rs.1700-1800 ($26). This was always confounding to me. But I was amused when once I was told by the sales staff that the buyers were generally expats, mostly the affluent Chinese and a select few whose criterion was to buy the best (read most expensive) Indian wine. Fratelli must have been pleased with the pricing policy although Kapil Sekhri, the Delhi-based Director always clarified to delWine that the producer didn’t have a say in pricing any label. Next to Sette were also stocked the Indian Nine Hills at $10. A couple of other Fratelli wines used to be priced at $13-16-commanding slight premium over the street prices.
The new Terminal T-3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport was inaugurated in 2010 when the Prince of Good Times, Vijay Mallya and owner of Four Seasons Winery through United Spirit ltd., had enough clout to have a monopoly for the Four Seasons wines till Sula broke the code. Nine Hills could also made an appearance because of Jacob’s Creek and the powerful Pernod Ricard.
In May 2011, Sula had a fairly wide range of premium wines which were quite reasonably priced. Sula Brut at $7 (then Rs. 310) was probably the best value-for-money wine in the whole wine section, followed by the base quality Seco at $6. The most expensive wine was Dindori Reserve Viognier ($10). The ubiquitous Chenin Blanc was priced at $6, the popular Sauvignon Blanc at $7 and Shiraz at slightly expensive $8 and Zinfandel at relatively unattractive $9. Even The Zin Rose was priced at a modest $6, making them all good buys at different price points. In contrast, the complete range of Four Seasons varietals was priced at $10 including Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc while the Barrique Reserve range was priced at the most expensive tag of $20 a bottle.
Although the price of Indian wines were increased during the later years, ostensibly due to the real and opportunity cost of the real state, several imported wines were also higher than the street price and delWine had so reported it. There were some glaring anomalies in pricing where the wine would be priced higher than the local market prices with 150% customs duty, varying excise duty and VAT of 20%. The ubiquitous Prosecco DOC from Sartori was priced at $26 (Rs. 1664) when it retailed in Delhi for Rs. 1300. Indian made Chandon Brut Rose was priced higher at $26 (Rs1664) when in the local market with excise duty and VAT retailed for Rs. 1450. The Chandon Brut at $21 was close to the Delhi Retail Price (since increased to $22).
 Mouton Cadet from Rothschild was priced at $20 (Wine-Searcher price Rs. 1500) whereas the Cadet d’Or from South of France, retailing for almost half the price was also listed at the same price of $20. The hapless customer with no wine knowledge could be made to part with twice the amount for the Southern French wine of basic quality, though from the same owners of Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
With the withdrawal of Indian wines, one wonders what happened to those wealthy expats who would buy them at twice the market price. But it does feel sad that we would not have any Indian wines to be showcased at the airport when we are trying to promote ‘Wines of India’ brand overseas. This is a matter that should be looked into by the producers, Airport Authority and the Duty Free Shop in Delhi. Curiously, the Mumbai International Airport has also reportedly discontinued selling Indian wines. Hopefully, this is not a ‘cartelised’ decision and only a temporary measure.
But kudos to the Delhi Duty Free for offering 20% discount on champagnes during the festive season. It made them much more attractive and one wonders if the revellers boosted the sales. The wine segment sales really needs a boost, when such incentives are provided before they decide to slice of the area gradually and are left only with champagnes.
For earlier related Articles, please visit,
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IGI Airport: Delhi Duty-free Dresses down Wines
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Subhash Arora |