Grover Zampa gets a Gold in Sakura Awards

The SAKURA Japan Women’s Wine Awards, established in 2014 is an international wine competition held in Japan. It is unique in that only female experts from the wine business-namely  sommeliers, winemakers, wine school educators, journalists, restaurant and beverage directors, retail store buyers, importers and distributors work together to judge the wines. The judges are Japanese, barring a couple of special judges who are from other countries. This competition has been judged exclusively by female wine specialists, namely.

This year, there were 4326 entries from 34 participating countries including India, and the medals- Diamond, Double Gold, Gold and Silver were awarded after a blind tasting in different categories, considering aspects such as food pairing and costing and how they appeal to women wine buyers and consumers. No other Indian wines won any Awards.

Last year the Awards saw 4342 entries from 33 countries with 53% awarded medals. India with 9 entries had 2 Golds and 2 Silvers with a ration of 44% awarded wines. Shiraz Rose and Brut Sparkling had won Golds while La Reserve and VA Reserve Red had won Silver each. Wines are entered by the distributor Ambika Trading Co. The VA Reserve Collection White was one of the 2 medal winners in 2017 and won a gold with Sauvignon Blanc bagging a silver.

Grover Zampa is very enthusiastic participant of international wine competitions and participates regularly in several competitions since 2013.  It has amassed 148 international awards for 13 wines since 2013, from 7 competitions across 3 continents, which evidences the manifestation of its true craftsmanship.

 Vivek Chandramohan, CEO, Grover Zampa Vineyards is quite chuffed at winning 4 medals, including a Gold and says, ‘We are extremely proud of our wins at SAKURA 2019, as the acknowledgement really helps reiterate our determination of producing the best quality wines. We are constantly endeavouring to stay ahead of the curve and with this resolve we have made multiple advancements in terms of innovation and technology. We are optimistic on what the future has in store for us and are committed towards fuelling the wine industry as a whole.’

Grover Zampa Vineyards (GZV) is India’s second largest wine producer in India and has been pumping in a lot of resources into upgrading its equipment and technology in order to make world-class wines. The company owns wineries and vineyards in both the Nandi Hills in Karnataka and in the Nashik Valley in Maharashtra. It claims to be the largest exporter of wines from India, selling to over 20 countries. Working with low yields, sustainable viticulture practices and selective hand harvesting, the winemaking is carried out by a team of local enologists under the direction of  French wine consultant Michel Rolland and French winemaker Mathias Pellisard.

Subhash Arora

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