Twenty Six years back Grover Vineyards took it upon itself to revive the art of wine drinking in India. Unlike its competition, it shuns ordinary table grapes, preferring French wine grapes for producing one of the best Indian wines.
With a portfolio comprising of- La Reserve, Cabernet Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognior Clairette and Shiraz Rose, Grover Vineyards Ltd., is seeing its wines growing more and more popular each year. “La Reserve is not only our flagship wine but one of the most appreciated wines from the portfolio,” Says Kapil Grover, scion heading the eponymous firm.
Needless to say, wines have come of age in India more so among all age groups, stressing his passion for quality, says Grover, “Our objective is to become number one in both the red wine and white wines. It has been the general belief that Grover’s La Reserve is no. 1 in red wine and Sula wears the crown for the white Sauvignon Blanc (an opinion endorsed even by delWine till a couple of years ago before a few newer serious producers threw their hat in the ring too). I want to be the quality leaders for both red and whites.”
Asked about the fastest growing brands in his company’s portfolio at present, Grover informs, “We try to maintain that growth across all brands. Our largest in terms of volume is the Cabernet-Shiraz. I believe that if we went by market demand, the La Reservè would be the fastest growing brand in our portfolio.” However, he stresses, “We cannot grow at the rate demanded by the market, especially when it comes to the production of La Reservé, because we need to maintain the quality for which we are known.”
Grover Vineyards has already doubled fermentation capacity, which will thereafter be trebled to 1.8 million litres near Bangalore and 300,000 litres in Sangli, Maharashtra. The firm has invested Rs 4 crore at the main winery near Bangalore and Rs 1 crore at the unit in Sangli. On the issue of percentage growth coming along in the company in comparison to last year, Grover feels it is growing well. “We are trying to sustain the same growth year- on-year and we have grown by 25 per cent since last year.”
On the turnover of the company in terms of sales volume the winery produces 1,200,000 bottles a year. Moreover, 30per cent of Grover Vineyards production is exported to more than 10 countries and appreciated in some of the world best restaurants. A growth of 25-30per cent year-on-year is expected. “Very recently, we unveiled the Art Collection,” says Grover. “As you may be aware that Grovers believe in innovating itself from time-to-time. We thought of being creative and thus by applying-out-of –the box thinking, the wine-art labels were created. Each wine label is a work of art that is conveying the vision, story and character of the best winery.
Besides the Art Collection, we are working on improving our wines too. Other than the Art Chenin and Shiraz, there are no new products on the slate, says Grover. “We believe that we are quality players, and each year strives to produce a better quality than the previous year. We are focusing on our Vineyards, and upgrading the technology throughout, so as to produce grapes of better quality.”
Speaking about the expansion of production capacity in the near future, Grover is very bullish. “We have recently invested in a new barrel room and have increased productivity. I Do not think we are looking at any increase in the same in the near future.” The aim of Grover Vineyards is not to be a mass producer, in fact, we are a boutique, and familyowned winery with emphasis on quality.
The latest additions to the company’s portfolio include The Art Collection, which comprises of - Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Cabernet Shiraz, Shiraz Rosè and the company’s flagship wine- La Reservè packaged with new art labels is the latest addition. “Very soon, we would be introducing Chenin Blanc & Shiraz as an addition to the Art Collection, says Grover.
Commenting on the current trends that he sees in the Indian market relating to consumption of wine, Grover feels, wine has become famous as a culture with few states and as an entertainment in various part of the world. India, though, new with the age old wine culture is in its phase of transition. Winemakers of all sizes, from international spirit giants to home brewers see huge potential in India’s booming market. And, the current scenario only determines the success of wine in the Indian beverage industry in the coming years.
Stressing on the major constraints that the domestic wine industry is facing in recent times, Grover informs that there are few obstacles that the wine industry and wine-makers are facing at present.
The very first and foremost being- education on wine at all the levels of supply chain, on the product knowledge, storage, transfer, service and consumption of wine is lagging in a big way.
An inadequate knowledge in terms of technology used for the growth of superior quality of grapes leads to slow progress in this area which makes the process time consuming and cumbersome, feels Grover. Other than this, one needs to work even harder with the quality of grapes available in India. Last but not the least- the absence of uniformity in the laws, duties and taxes levied on the wine industry is very discouraging for the growth of this industry. Since alcoholic beverages are a state subject, each of India’s 29 states has its own rules & regulations and duties & taxes.
There seems to be a drop in sales in almost all industries at this time of recession, Grover urges. We are looking forward to the recovery of this global virus and hoping for a bright future of the Indian wine scenario. The company has increased production and has laid immense emphasis on giving its customers great quality wines. India is still at a very nascent stage as far as the wine economy is concerned. “I believe that it is most important to introduce entry level wines which are reasonably priced so that it attracts the new consumers and encourage them to adopt wines,” informs Grover.
“We use & cultivate the following grape varieties: - Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chenin Blanc.”
Wine import in India is not an easy business, Grover feels. In fact, there are a lot of new entrants who have come and gone. The taxation policies along with the storage facilities are conditions that make it difficult to sell quality wines in India. There is a good future for imported wine brands in India, and with the support of the government we can hope to have a great wine market
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