Wine & India

About six months ago, I had a glass of Indian wine at a restaurant near where I live. My initial excitement and curiosity gave way to horror as I tasted what was easily one of the worst beverages I have come across: it was a white (they weren't able to tell me the varietal), easily pushing 14% alcohol, and it had tons of residual sugar. It smelled frighteningly like an ash tray. Ack!

Word is, though, that like many things in India, their wine business is changing and that my (remarkably limited) experience with it is more of an anomaly. This isn't anything new, but the mainstream press is starting to give some attention to this.

Rediff.com has an article about Indian wines, and mentions that there is a grower who has successfully raised pinot noir -- though what 'successfully' means remains to be seen. Asia Times Online mentions in an article that India's tax on wine is as high as it is on hard liquors, and they're trying to change that.

While some folks hint at the potential competition from Indian winemakers, it seems to me the interesting point here is that India's wine consumption is growing at a quick pace. As Indians being to consume more wine (the per-capita consumption is less than half a teaspoon per head as of 2004) and are in posession of more expendable capital, we can hope to see their demand rising as well.

Look for some Indian wine reviews here sometime soon.