Indians 'want sweeter wines'

Importers need to research the taste profiles of what Indian consumers would like to drink instead of pushing European-style wines, Robert Joseph has said.

Speaking to Harpers following a debate on the state of the Indian wine market at the Taste Food & Wine Conference in Mumbai, Joseph, chair of the Indian Wine Challenge, said: "European-style wines are not necessarily what the Indian consumer likes.

"You can't expect them to like Bordeaux.

"Indians tend to have a sweet tooth and wines with 11 grams of sugar may be better suited.

"Maybe importers should find out their consumers' taste preferences and tailor brands accordingly if they want to grow their market share."

But Nishant Kapoor, general manager of The Wine Society of India, disagrees: "I think it is too early to research taste profiles. The Indians currently drinking wine are aware of wine regions and brands, and France is still important to them for the status it holds.

"More than anything they need labels they can pronounce so as not to lose face when ordering a wine."

Loic Dennulin, director of Sopexa India, confirmed that French wine holds a 45% market share of imported wines by volume in India and Bordeaux is very active.

He said some wineries such as Aimery Sieur D'arques and Tableaux wines, present at the Taste Conference, have developed wines "specifically targeted at the Chinese and Indian consumer." The wines have less tannin and are sweeter.

Joseph also criticised the industry for making it the consumer's job to learn about wine.

"If you take music, people don't go to school to learn how to read music. They know what they like and will listen to what they like - whether that means Coldplay or Beethoven and it shouldn't be any different with wine," he said.

Joseph added that: "With the risk of sawing myself off by the knees, I feel that we should introduce a separate criteria [in the Indian Wine Challenge] for judges to assess wines such as Blossom Hill. The wines don't win medals but they are brands people like to drink."

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Sherry Sheikh said:

I do agree with Mr. Robert Joseph. Indian food is spicy, oily and fried and old world wines donot do justice to the food. There are the so called wine experts who will differ but to my knowledge & experiences too a majority of wines do not match the food. Mr Kapoor's comment about the lables to be more simplified is a point to be considered by most interested in the Indian Market. Do try out Taylor & Shroff wines with Indian food, as they match perfectly.

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February 10, 2010
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Matt Castle said:

Dear Harpers, Interesting reading regarding Indian wine preferences. However, as a former Sommelier for the ITC group of Hotels across India, I have experienced many different consumer choice preferences on the floor with residual sugar levels being a factor, but not the be all and end all of the Indian palate as many authors like to contend. Brand strength to some extent plays a role when selecting a wine in the 5 Stars (approx 75% of total wine consumed in this channel), especially when a guest orders for work colleagues or potential business partners. Strong luxury a*sociations exist with the French, and the rest of the new world take on each other for share of the value plays. Many savvy Indian consumers will ask for wine options that will pair well with their chosen courses. It must be noted that wines with a higher level of sweetness make for better matches with spicey dishes (as the sugar balances the heat), and particularly white wines and roses with a residual sugar level of around 11-20 grams per litre seem to go well with veg and lighter non veg preparations. So yes, sweet wines are preferred in these purchase scenarios, and when pairing wines for dinners and events. I strongly believe that Indian wine drinkers (around a million or so of them, and affluent) stylistically are searching for a bottle that has lots of concentrated flavour, not sugar. The rich, complex, and intense nature of their food, snacks, teas, tobacco and drinks has resulted in many new wine drinkers naturally gravitating to a full bodied powerful wines to remember and that ultimately "give a kick," as my respected food and beverage manager so beautifully puts it.

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February 15, 2010
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This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it said:

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Having just come back from Goa one has to has take into account horrendous storage conditions for the wines. If there is residual sugar which matches Indians' sweet teeth and also an antidote to chilli bite then give the heat the wine could get madeirised. Of course many prefer enhancing chilli bite so a whisky is just right. In restaurants I saw some 3 year old branded whites and roses years past their best. So maybe local bottling is the solution. When I gently mentioned this to a sommelier I was told that many customers prefer older wines. So should past-it young wine vintages be sold to India? But given Indian tastes for whisky and sugar maybe sweet Oloroso is just what will sell? Warren Edwardes (Wine for Spice / Sticky Wines)

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February 22, 2010
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