April 24: At a glittering Award ceremony following the India Wine Summit, the first-ever wine conference of its kind in India, and Wines of the World Showcase, Rajeev Samant, Founder CEO of Sula Vineyards and AD singh, Managing Director of Oliver Bar & Kitchen Group were both inducted into the delWine Excellence Awards Hall of Fame after the regular Awards Ceremony which saw Subhash Arora give away the editor’s Choice Awards to Tristan Beau de Lemonie, Director of Operations LUXE Hotels India, Accor Hotels, and General Manager Delegate, Pullman and Novotel, New Delhi Aerocity for the best General Manager Proactive in wine activities in Delhi/NCR
Explaining the latest Award Subhash Arora, Editor of the Awards which he started in 2016 at Pullman Aerocity, he felt there was a desperate need to recognize such visionary General Managers who could motivate the whole team and get across the barrier of finance departments always looking at the beverage costs and in the process, unable to excel in wine programs that catapulted consumers to order wine at the restaurants and hotels.
The Awards were announced at the Awards Function which followed the World of Wine Show case presented by leading producers and Importers like Sula, Grover, Fratelli, Brindco, Aspri, VBev, Gusto, The Wine Park, Prestige, Hema, Ace Bevergez, Agnetta and Pullman which sells its own labels of red white, Rose and Sparkling as the house label very enthusiastically. Thus, all of those who are somebody in the wine business except the multi nationals Pernod Ricard and Moet Chandon decline to participate and support the Awards, ostensibly due to budgetary constraints. They were also supported by Windsor Chocolatier of Gurgaon, Epicure Food and 
Beverages (the top importer of world-class cheeses), Kumar Lables- a wine label producer and TVS Motors which had displayed their beautiful, sexy Road Racer. Sanah Shivali Designs provided gifts for the Top Ten Winners of Wine (WOW)- Rupali Bhatnagar, Uma Chigurupati Ritu Dalmia, Madhulika Bhattacharya Dhall, Sonal Holland MW, Kadambari Kapoor, Manisha Parija, Kiran Patil, Aeisha Sahni and Reva Singh (In alphabetical order. For Details, please click: Ten Indian Top Women of Wine (WOW) Recognized at delWine Excellence Awards 2019
Results at a glance may be viewed at Results at a Glance
Explained the rationale for inducting Rajeev Singh, Founder & CEO of Sula Vineyards with 20 years of experience to increase the production to 1.2 million cases and making Sula a household name and making products available at all the nooks and corners of India and AD Singh, Restaurateur Extra-ordinaire and Managing Director of the Olive group of restaurant and promoting wine as a part of 
gastronomy in all his restaurants across the country, Subhash Arora said thus,’ Wine industry has been really at its nascent stage in India. We had given Kapil Grover, Chairman of Grover Zampa Vineyards the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. That sounded like the zenith of his career was over. In fact, it is a mere coincident that he has decided to step down from the active working and control of Grover Zampa late last year and is not taking day-do-day decisions. It would be best to induct people like him with many years service potential left, to recognize them by inducting them into the newly constituted Hall of Fame.
Unfortunately Rajeev Samant was taken ill on the very morning he was to catch a flight to come to Delhi where he was scheduled to give a Valedictory Address and give away a few Awards besides networking and meet may people wanting to meet him. However AD Singh flew from Mumbai to give a Valedictory Address at the Conference and later collect his Recognition.
The Report about the Conference etc. will be posted at a later date.
Subhash Arora
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