There was a time post-Independence when India was considered a dry state. Wine plantations that had come up through the Portuguese and British intervention were either uprooted or used for grape and raisin production.
It was only in the 1980s that the Indian liquor industry came back to life with the formation of a liquor company in Goa that produced Indian whiskey, brandy, gin and wine (still and sparkling). However, while Indians adopted spirits with an open heart, they were yet to get accustomed to fine wine drinking. In spite of increased vineyards and domestic wine production, this problem continues till today. A recent Vinexpo-IWSR (International Wine and Spirit Research) survey revealed that between 2008 and 2012 Indian wine consumption declined by 15.9 per cent for still wines and 25 per cent for sparkling, while Indian spirit consumption grew by 73.77 per cent. Though there were several reasons for it, Xavier De Eizaguirre, chairman Vinexpo blames it on the “decline in tourism because of economic crisis, terror attacks and increasing threats to women safety”. Sommelier Magandeep Singh explains, “Terrorism hits business. Markets slow down and businessmen start spending less. Even international trade affairs become slower and there is reduced sale.”
Though these dismal figures sound disappointing, the future seems bright. According to the survey, by 2017, sparkling wine consumption is expected to grow by 100 per cent and still wine by 70.9 per cent. “The overall evolution of the wine industry in India should be 68 per cent. India has a huge under-30 population that, hopefully, will fuel the growth expected,” adds Xavier.
Singh feels that women, too, will significantly stimulate this growth. He elaborates, “Why do people drink wineIJ Either they have had exposure abroad, their doctor has asked them to leave spirits and drink wine for health reasons or for social status. These things matter to the under-30 generation and to women.”
Red wine tops the list of wine consumption in India followed by white and rosé, says Xavier. “Between 2008-12 when white wine consumption declined by 25.5 per cent and rosé by 15.9 per cent, red wine consumption dropped only by 10.8 per cent. Even in the expected growth chart from 2013-17, red wine is expected to grow by 71.6 per cent followed by white (70.2 per cent) and rosé (66.6 per cent),” he informs.
The survey revealed that majority of wines consumed from 2008-12 were domestic, but in the next five years both domestic and imported wine consumption will increase. However, Singh feels that increase in domestic wine production will automatically increase consumption in India. He says, “Has anyone ever wondered why wine consumption in China is more than India in spite of the same demographyIJ It is because Chinese drink a lot of local wine. We can reach the same consumption levels if we drink more Indian wine. We need to produce that much domestic wine consistently. We don’t have the volume. In fact, Indians have an upper hand over the Chinese because we can communicate in English easily which means we can access more information on wine than China. Thus our production can be better and when that happens, consumption will increase more than expected.”
As for spirits consumption in India, Singh calls vodka the biggest contributor. “The growth in whiskey has not been much, in fact, the whiskey market has been on a major decline. But the spirits industry has been growing massively because of the consumption of vodka, which is again a significant drink to the under-30 age group,” he shares.
Brandy, too, has substantially contributed to the spirit consumption growth, adds Xavier. “In the past five years, vodka consumption in India grew by 49.16 per cent and in the coming five years it is expected to grow by another 19.15 per cent. But this is nothing compared to the brandy consumption rates. From 2008-13, the consumption of brandy grew by 155 per cent and in another five years is expected to grow by another 17.8 per cent,” he sums up.