Wine Connossier

Alchemy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4595569.stm

Has anyone tried these (or other) Indian wines?

I think I'd still rather rely on my Kingfishers and Godfathers for my headache...

gs_uppal

These wine manufacturers have become major exporters of wine, even to countries like France.
Sula is a famous exported brand.
Indians are getting caught by the wine fever now, so far wine drinking was very rare amongst indians.

john.sw

All the Indian wines I have tried have been absolutely disgusting. I mean really, really vile, like the cheap stuff we used to get in the UK 30 years ago.

To be fair, I haven't tried any Sula wine, but I will try to find a stockist in Ooty when I'm back there later this month, and I'll let you all know! As far as I can tell, Sula wine is not available in the UK or France - maybe someone imports it, but they're keeping it secret from the wine-drinking public!

Friends of ours who are in India permanently have forgotten what wine should taste like and find Indian wine acceptable, describing is as "not too bad".

It doesn't matter where the vines originated, it is the process of making the wine that counts - also transporting it at high temperatures would destroy any wine unless it is fortified with spirits.

Maybe if nothing else were available I would get used to Indian wine... a case of "any Port in a storm".

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torryquine

I tried one, but I can't remember the name (maybe I had too much of it )

I was prepared for the worst but it really wasn't too bad and I did go back for a second glass. OK so I'm not that fussy, but there are wines I'd turn my nose up at (Californian Zinfandel especially ). This one was a lot better than some of the nasty plonk that gets flogged in the UK for £4/bottle.

Have a go, you might be suprised.

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crvlvr

I agree. The SULA is marginally better but not worth the $10 that they charge -- even in India. However, I did come to the conclusion a long time a go that there is very litttle correlation between the quality of wine and price you have pay for it. Sometimes a $2 or $3 bottle of wine from Trader Joe's (supermarket chain in the US) is just fantastic. Its all marketing hype. And if India is "in" then their wines will sell -- for a while.

Uppal is so right. Drinking wine is one way the rich in India liek to spend their money. paying $20-$25 for a bottle in a restaurant, is becoming commonplace among the affluent in the cities. Which is funny as very few wines go well with spicy Indian food.

torryquine

I beg to differ. A good "boosomy" red can hold it's own with anything!

cyberhippie

True!
Your far better off with the old British tradition of 10 pints of lager before a good curry!!

Seriously the wines I've tasted up until now in India are pretty yuch! Though I have never tried Sula!!
Mostly any wine I buy in India goes into a Sangria, to mask the taste!
I wondered about this for years thinking well surely a country of India's size must have the right climate for wine grapes!
I later read an article about the wine industry in India it wasn't so much the lack of quality grape vines more the hygene was letting them down!
This is a must with wine, a small contamination will turn your Lalande Pomeral into vinegar fit for the sink!
This was some years ago but the article mentioned there had been more investment in the industry and more vinyard were springing up in Maharastra.
These are obviously the result of that investment!
Still I think they'll have their work cut out to make major inroads into the international wine market!
It seems to me there are a glut of good wines out there many with very reasonable price tags!

Lastly on the subject of wine Are'nt I the lucky one, For years I had a wine shop here in the village where I live. The owner had bought wines from Bordauex and Burgundy, built a stone wine seller and laid them down. This was in 1971, by the time I found them it would have been about 93.
Many of these wine were fantastic and I don't say that lightly I have never before or since had such amazing wine! of course some was corked and was only fit for the toilet a risk worth taking I concluded!
Since the kind owner had never changed the price on the bottles!! The MOST I paid for one of these bottles was 8 British Pound (23 guilders) most were around 6 quid!!
A real treasure trove!!!!!

psycho_denver

well. U are entitled to your opinion. and i cant claim to be an expert on wines. But this point of time, i hope that that storm has hit u. and its any port for u! I have spent a reasonable amount of time in Uk and if i"m not mistaken, 99 percent of the wines available their ( Tesco. m&s, londis) were French, Australian, Portugese and California wines. So is The UK still producing the shit it used to 30 years back? Indian wines are not outstanding or out of the world. But they are far from your description of vile, yuck and cheap stuff. Try the Sula, Grovers etc. and to give some relief to your misguided soul, the world's best wines are available in all major citiesof India. so dont forget to pick up your favorite wine before u reach OOTY. U wudnt want that storm 2 hit u before u pick up your bottle of UK wine( aka crap shit). arial

ddevadatta

I heard there is a Frenchman around Mysore area ( Ithink) who is producing some good wines of export quality. Anybody know about that?

I had an indian wine at my Indian Restuarant here and I would say it was acceptable. Not that great but not that bad.

Cheers to all my whino friends.....

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torryquine

Yes, The Food Program on BBC Radio Four had an article about it, which is what made me curious about trying some. I'm sure it takes a while to gain the experience necessary to make really good wine and I see no reason why India wouldn't be capable of rivaling South Africa/Chile/Australia in a few years.

Honestly, the one I tried was fine and it probably was Sula when I think about it. More of a 'drinking' wine than a 'table' one perhaps and it probably didn't "match" the South Indian food it went with but we've often found that a hearty Rioja is better suited to spicy food.

Ditto what psycho says - English wines are, and have always been dreadful - we simply don't have the climate for it (yet that is - global warming could change things). We're better when we stick to brews made of native fruits. They make a great wine near Perth, Scotland made of Oak leaves - mmmm

Good luck to the Indian wine business

Mays

Am very curious to start a Wine Club...place where people wud come and get together with their own experiences of Wine drinking....have had a load of wines but sadly in India its yet to take off

Anyone interested wud be very welcome...Indian wines are good but am very concerned about how we need to initiate more people to Wine drinking say experience the Chileans, Other New World Wines, etc

lonelyaztec

Hey mays,

There are other threads on this forum on wines, and why Indian wines are bad etc...do a search on Cuisine and Restaurants forum, and you will get to it.

Welcome to Indiamike, and am sure your Wine Club will be popular.

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crvlvr

Mays, i it possible to get these other wines in India? the only ones i have seen in store are domestics and the restaurants may have a bottle or two of the imported stuff at ridiculous prices.

Ravibagal

We Indians have no trouble getting things we want here even if it is not openly available in stores. If you have the $$s you can get almost anything these days.

Mays please pm or email me if you start something.

Mays

One needs to have a decent bootlegger

I have had access to good chilean reds like the Echeveria...and also to some fine South african & New Zealand Wines

But Wine drinking is something which really needs to be cultivating...one might call it a snobbish culture but it definitely beats the hell out of guzzling other alcohol ...other than off course single malts