India’s York Winery pitches their all-new, affordable wines, the cricket-themed All Rounders, at the gap in the mid segment in the Indian market

Now that the FIFA World Cup is done, Wimbledon over and the British Open dusted off, sports lovers around India are turning back to their all-time beloved sport: cricket. The series against England is causing some excitement currently. So is it the time once again for Indians to be glued to their TVs, cheering on their side with that inevitable beer in hand?

Not if the young wine producers at York Winery, Nashik, have their way. They would like Indian cricket lovers to pick a glass of wine instead. Tapping into the Indian love for cricket and targeting that oft-ignored middle segment in the wine market, York has launched a well-priced brace of wines, named All Rounder. One red and one white wine.

In the din of high-octane beverage launches, it was possible to miss this one.  But York is well-established among the top wine brands in India with a varied portfolio. And this carefully conceptualized, sport-centric product interested me. The label was bight, colourful; very retro and appealing; the name catchy. And after all, it’s cricket.

Cricket-crazy country: but let’s forget the beer

The idea grew organically from casual chats between York’s owner-brothers, Kailash and Ravi Gurnani in their office. In a telephonic interview from Shanghai, Kailash admitted several things came together as catalysts for creating this Indian wine. Well-travelled, with a love for sport (Ravi follows cricket and football, Kailash, motorsports), they were well aware of Indians’ love and obsession for all things cricket. “We discussed how, in this mid-market segment, no one really gives branding much thought. There seems to be lots of thought given to the top end of the market – reserve Indian wines – aspirational stuff written on labels, etc. But the new Indian wine drinker only understands ‘red’ and ‘white’. So we said, let’s forget fancy terms.”

The pricing for the wines was set at Rs 500 a bottle, hitting the mid segment square on. “What do wine drinkers look for at that price? Something that does the job – a good, fault-free wine that they’d like to buy again; pocket-friendly, with visually appealing, simple labels that are easy to connect with.”

The look and feel: retro and cool

Product idea in place, the brothers tossed ideas around for a suitable name. I think All Rounder scores on all counts, I told Kailash. He agreed. “I don’t recall which of us came up with All Rounder…we were throwing names around – Googly, Cover Drive, Third Man. ‘All Rounder’ kind of grew on us. We wanted a metaphor which would indirectly connect different things. So we sat on it for a while. Then decided, let’s go with it. We’d noticed some Australian labels based on cricket and had wondered why no one had thought of it here.”

Name picked, it was time for the label design. “We were clear we wanted a retro look, pastel colours. During my travels to Hong Kong, I’d spotted some easy-drinking Spanish wines, with labels which had a ‘poster’-style look. That caught my eye. We rejected many initial designs. We delayed the All Rounder launch by a year until we were happy with the look.”

The All Rounder: what’s in it?

It was somewhat less stressful creating the two All Rounder blends – and yes, they are blends, happily intended that way. The white wine is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, both popular in India, left over from making the top York single varietal portfolio wines. “We always have some wine left which hasn’t made the cut for our single varietals, and which gets refermented,” says Kailash, “That’s the beauty of a blend. A touch of acid or fining brings the right balance. I needed to tick all the boxes of what I considered well-made, mid-level wines. I listened to feedback and came up with my own observations about what works.”

While the white is fruit-forward it is also dry: fresh and lively but not too acidic, making it eminently drinkable. With the red All Rounder – a Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon blend – a little residual sugar ‘smoothened the edges’ and made it easy to drink, he adds. The wines are made in stainless steel; there’s no oak, keeping the fresh, fruity notes intact.

So, who’s All Rounder’s target audience?

… I asked him. “The young drinker, with some exposure, travel experience and some disposable income, but not looking to spend upwards of Rs 1000 a bottle. He or she might be looking for a decent wine that’s pocket-friendly. I would drink this wine myself if I felt like a glass one evening.  Or you might.”

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