India Wine Awards 2022: Sifting ‘the exceptional from the ordinary’

The growing number of entries for the India Wine Awards 2022 clearly underlines India’s new phase in its journey toward appreciating premium wine

Twenty-four days. That is how long it took for the India Wine Awards 2022 (IWA) to move from paper to tasting table. As Sonal Holland MW looked to grow her ‘baby’, the IWA, into a bigger, much more credible property, she met Thomas Schlitt – Managing Director, Messe Dusseldorf India at Vinexpo Mumbai in August 2022, and the idea of a collaboration was floated and finalised. Prowine India was scheduled to be held in Mumbai on 17^th and 18^th October 2022, when the IWA results would be announced at a gala awards ceremony. That meant there would be a vast quantum of work to be done in a very short time.

Just over three weeks later, fifteen judges sat around tables at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace and tasted and assessed 410 wines – the largest number of wines entered into an Indian wine competition to date, and a considerable jump up from the 320 entered in 2019.

The rabbit from the hat

I was honestly skeptical that Sonal Holland and her team would be able to pull off the execution of a national-level wine competition within a few short weeks. But they did. With just two months in hand – with tasks including getting sponsorships, prepping for the competition, and computing the results to planning the gala evening – they became “laser-focused.” Explained Holland, “We have been doing it for a few years, so the checklist is familiar. It is a lot of work, but we knew what needed to be done.”

On the morning of the first day of judging, Holland’s team – five people including Holland herself – showed few signs of the frenetic run-up to the big day – or that they had been working until 3 am the night previous slotting last-minute things into place. At 9.45 am, the first calibration wines were poured, and the IWA was off to a smooth, brisk start.

Big brands buy-in

Let’s backtrack a bit. The 2022 edition of the India Wine Awards was the fourth edition of the concept created by Sonal Holland, India’s first Master of Wine. With every edition, she has worked to refine the format, she explains. In its very first year, it was a trade-only event at the Sofitel, Mumbai, much smaller in scale. The second edition was larger, complete with masterclasses and the Excellence in Restaurant Wine Programme awards (soon to return to the IWA), where restaurants with the most creatively compiled and comprehensive wine lists were feted. The third edition saw international masters of wine come on board as judges of the restaurant awards. Then came the pandemic, and after a two-year Covid-driven hiatus as businesses began picking up, it was time for a re-boot.

“In 2019, when we held the last IWA, we were already growing fast. We had more nominations than ever before. Ian Harris, the CEO of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) had flown down for it – there were early signs that major international brands were getting interested. My vision from that time on was that IWA should go on to collaborate with an international body.” With international trade fairs Vinexpo and Prowein scheduled to enter India, it was time to go big. “Prowine India was interested in the India Wine Awards straight away. I was looking for a global partner and they were looking for a body that could collaborate and curate a high-end evening to inform and entertain along with food and drinks, with the crème de la crème of the industry in attendance. We felt this was a win-win partnership, one that would bring enhanced credibility to both.”

Another big brand to show immediate interest was the Taj Group of Hotels. Holland moved the judging sessions to the iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel in south Mumbai with plans for a calendar of follow-up wine events at its iconic Crystal Room in the coming months, as well as tying up the preferential listing of the winning IWA wines on Taj hotel wine lists.

The imported wine influx

Holland outlines the biggest difference that the 2022 edition had over the earlier ones: the increasing number of premium international wine brands that entered the competition – in fact, they dominated the entries. Unlike earlier editions, where entry-and mid-range wines found representation, this time the international trend for premiumisation was evident and reflected in the wines entered into the competition. “Quality wine dominated, and there was participation from every producer and importer present in the country, even those who normally do not participate in competitions,” she said.

Holland is very proud of the results. Of the 410 wines entered, 224 medals were awarded, which meant the 55% of wines were considered worthy of awards. The wines included still, sparkling, sweet, and fortified. Included for the first time were wines in cans (four won silver medals) showing the Indian market’s growing awareness of international trends.

“This was a truly deserving list of winners,” said Holland, “The 15 judges were the most highly qualified. The process was rigorous. There was a great sense of comfort and community during the tasting process and the re-tasting of the short-listed wines by the panel chairs re-validated the results.” In all, there were 30 Best in Show medals awarded (outstanding wines scoring 95 points and above), 77 gold medals (90 to 94 points), and 117 silver medals (85 to 89 points). (See the list of Best in Show and Gold medal winners below).

‘Relevance and Integrity‘

What remains de rigueur for Holland is what she describes as the four cornerstones of the competition, some things she won’t compromise on. “Anyone can create a wine competition. But it’s important to maintain integrity (strict rules for the judging process), credibility (the most highly qualified judges – I don’t believe in consumer judging, although in the end the results are meant for the consumer); consistency and relevance (the awards must offer value to the wine trade and be relevant to it while empowering the consumer to make the right choices by guiding them towards quality) and authenticity. The results can only be as good as the competition itself is.”

The gala evening was for invitees only and saw 350 invitees congregate on the 17th evening at the Jio World Convention Centre, the venue of Prowine 2022. There were panel discussions honouring high-achieving women in the beverage industry along with the unveiling of Holland’s India Wine Insider, all punctuated by witticisms voiced in the baritone of master of ceremonies Anish Trivedi. Finally, it was time for the awards to be announced, and applause rang out time and again for the winners. Cocktails and dinner afterward saw a gathering of consular heads, hospitality czars, and industry mavens along with the who’s who of the wine industry.

Holland and her team are now unwinding after a frenzied couple of months. But work still remains to be done – medal stickers created and awarded, and a spanking new computerized judging system to be created and slotted into place for the next edition, to eliminate any chances of potential errors. “I am aware that executionary challenges might crop up as the competition grows and entries increase. I want the competition to run smoothly and also to speed. Computerisation is the key to that,” explains Holland.

And then will come the time to think of the next edition of the India Wine Awards. One thing is for sure, Holland assures me, it will be even bigger, more ambitious. For the Indian wine consumer, that can only mean that things are going to get better. Enabling them to discern, as Holland puts it, “the best from the good, the exceptional from the ordinary.”

India Wine Awards 2022: the results

Best in Show 2022 medal winners – Indian

Best in Show 2022 medal winners -International 

Gold medal winners 2022 – Indian

Gold medal winners 2022 – International