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| One of the B2B Sessions with the Indian delegate |
There was plenty of tasting in a relaxed atmosphere
at these B2B meetings as also at the evening dinners
where an array of producers from the nearby regions
presented their wines to unsuspecting and captive audience.
One had the opportunity of tasting a wide spectrum,
ranging from the worst to some top end- top end wines.
As promised to the participants, the learning opportunity
from the programme was enormous and the people concurred.
Said Naresh Uttamchandani of Sovereign Impex, ‘Any
programme organised by Subhash Arora is a hit and this
one was no exception. Please count me out for such extended
dinners but definitely count me in for the next such
programme.’ ‘I have had Arneis coming out
of my ears at the meetings with the producers though,’
he added in a lighter vein.
Arneis is a popular grape of the Piemonte region and
one cannot walk away without tasting Arneis or Favorita
whites from this region. A docg from the Roero hills
(as opposed to the Langhe hills which ensconce Barbaresco,
Barolo and many other prestigious villages known for
their reds, it makes a delicious, crisp aperitif wine.
Indian Wine Academy had a supporting role to play in
the introduction of this grape by giving a supportive
hand to Casetta, a producer from Alba, whose Mumplin
label (Arneis grapes) was an instant hit when he had
introduced it at various forums.
One of the most enthusiastic participants was Ashwani
Gupta who has been studying the wine market for over
the last two years and feels he is ready with imports-Italy
and France being his first choices. He short-listed
a few producers and was in the final stages of negotiations
when he told delWine, ’I am really glad I came
to this programme. It has helped me learning a lot about
Italian wines and in finding some interesting vendors.’
Abhay Kewadkar was on an even stronger wicket. Knowing
the potential of UB Wines and Spirits and the mega plan
they have for imports, there were many vendors who already
have marketing arrangements in India but are not too
happy with the current performance. UB would be a safer
and bigger bet for them and as such they were seen even
wooing him for channel partnerships. Ladubay from Loire
Valley has been already bought by the group and after
a successful launch in Maharashtra (the excise hurdle
notwithstanding) it is ready to be launched in Delhi
next week.
As he explained to delWine and many of the participating
producers, ’UB does not plan to be just another
importer. We would like to work with various brands
and producers on a long term basis. We hope to expand
the market rather than taking a slice of the existing
market.’
Tasting of Autochthonous grape varieties
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| ViniBuoni d'Italia - Unguided Tasting of wines from Autochthonous grapes o |
Tasting of wines crafted from Italy’s indigenous
grapes is always a fascinating experience. A few of
them are undrinkable for the Indian palate but a vast
number of them go very well with Indian palate. There
were two opportunities for tasting hundreds of such
varieties at a common platform, besides at the individual
regions offering a guided tasting.
Go Wines and ViniBuoni d’Italia in conjunction
with FedExports, Piedmont had over 800 such gems on
offer. It was a once-in- a while opportunity for wine
connoisseurs and the big queues of people did indicate
many people taking advantage of the opportunity.
The ‘Salone’ and the B2B encounter at Torino
should take the Italian wines a notch higher in the
Indian market in the not-so-distant future.
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