I'm heading to India in November (for 3 months). I know this sounds a long way off, but the time is flying by, so I'll ask now. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to seek out, what to avoid (wine related, of course). My reading thus far is confusing, some articles and individuals stating decent wine is hard to find and expensive, some suggesting reasonable wine is fairly inexpensive.
I don't want to spend the whole three months without wine (I'd go into withdrawal). I am also keen to see how the Indian wine industry is doing. I have two months just travelling about from my base point (Ludhiana, Punjab) then a month travelling around the south, so I have plenty of (unplanned) time on my hands. It will be interesting to see if Aussie wine has made many inroads.
Cheers,
Mark
India!
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Daniel Jess
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Hi Mark
It's true that it's difficult to find good, (if any) wine in India for retail purchase. The reason is not really that it's difficult for the country to source the product (because there aren't any embargoes on imports for wine, as far as I have heard? let me know if I'm wrong). However, it's because a large number of Indians follow Hinduism.
Back in the day, Krishna and Brahma (two religious/political leaders) cursed wine.
Beyond that, I have nothing else to share! Possibly you might find South African wines a plenty, because of proximal trading routes, but that's not assured either. Best of luck!
It's true that it's difficult to find good, (if any) wine in India for retail purchase. The reason is not really that it's difficult for the country to source the product (because there aren't any embargoes on imports for wine, as far as I have heard? let me know if I'm wrong). However, it's because a large number of Indians follow Hinduism.
Back in the day, Krishna and Brahma (two religious/political leaders) cursed wine.
Beyond that, I have nothing else to share! Possibly you might find South African wines a plenty, because of proximal trading routes, but that's not assured either. Best of luck!
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cuttlefish
- Posts: 1014
- Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:46 pm
- Location: Sunbury
I was in Delhi late last year and into this year. There is not much wine around, but if you contact the right people, they can lead you to the few semi-decent wine stores. There are few Australian wines that I noticed. A little Jacobs Creek entry level sort of stuff, and some generic Riverland cheapies. I think it may depend on which state you're in, but generally speaking, the tariffs on imported wine are very high to protect their fledgeling industry, I figure, so you're not going to get any bargains.
There is a Delhi Wine Club, which you can apply to join if you're there for long enough to make it worthwhile. Also, I would expect that the five-star hotels may have a little duty-free floating about that they may be serving in their bars and restaurants onsite.
There are some upmarket eateries with French and Italian wines on their list. I think Brindco is importing them. You could try contacting them. There was a young Aussie sommelier by the name of Harshal working for them when I was there.
Plenty of Dom Perignon in the wine stores, but I'd hate to think what an Indian summer does to those. They sit them in the shopfront window in the sun for display. They don't move very fast, since wine is still in it's infancy there, so I reckon they're all stuffed.
You can buy Indian wine. There are some wineries inland from Mumbai, but the ones I tried were lame. Too sweet, too ripe, no structure. All over the shop. Hopefully they will produce some good wines one day.
There is a Delhi Wine Club, which you can apply to join if you're there for long enough to make it worthwhile. Also, I would expect that the five-star hotels may have a little duty-free floating about that they may be serving in their bars and restaurants onsite.
There are some upmarket eateries with French and Italian wines on their list. I think Brindco is importing them. You could try contacting them. There was a young Aussie sommelier by the name of Harshal working for them when I was there.
Plenty of Dom Perignon in the wine stores, but I'd hate to think what an Indian summer does to those. They sit them in the shopfront window in the sun for display. They don't move very fast, since wine is still in it's infancy there, so I reckon they're all stuffed.
You can buy Indian wine. There are some wineries inland from Mumbai, but the ones I tried were lame. Too sweet, too ripe, no structure. All over the shop. Hopefully they will produce some good wines one day.
Smack my [insert grape type here] up !
Thanks for that. Reading the posts on the travel forums it seems Oxford Landing and entry-level Jacobs Creek are (relatively) easy to come by but drastically overpriced!
In searching for information I have found the Indian Sommelier magazine. It seems the Indian Wine Show is on in January. Is anyone aware of any winemaker going over or presenting there? I will probably go along and would be very happy to volunteer to lend a hand
.
I'll post on the Boutique section, as well as other forums. If you know anyone who is going please let them know I'd be interested in catching up.
Cheers,
Mark
In searching for information I have found the Indian Sommelier magazine. It seems the Indian Wine Show is on in January. Is anyone aware of any winemaker going over or presenting there? I will probably go along and would be very happy to volunteer to lend a hand
.
I'll post on the Boutique section, as well as other forums. If you know anyone who is going please let them know I'd be interested in catching up.
Cheers,
Mark
Cheers,
Mark
Mark