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India Wine Awards 2019: Indian wines hold their own

October 22, 2019

Quality has its own rewards, and the tweaks made to the India Wine Awards 2019 format by Sonal Holland MW demonstrated that Indian wines could hold their ground against international competition

The spotlights are off, the music has faded, the chairs are stacked and stashed away. The 3^rd edition of the India Wine Awards is done. There has been good media coverage on the event (congratulations to all winners!) and the record numbers of entries (376 including the segment of wines paired with food). As I was wandering notebook in hand, around the Sangiovese vineyards in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region at the time, I was unable to attend the high-octane, glitzy awards night held at The Leela Mumbai on 5th October 2019, although I had sipped and spit my way through two intense days of judging earlier with my fellow jury members.

But I was curious about the post-event learnings and takeaways.

Indian wines on an upward trajectory

Sonal Holland MW with Grover Zampa’s Ravi Vishwanathan
…and with Fabrizio Giustarini of the Italian Trade Agency & Consul-General Stefania Costanza

There is little doubt that Indian wine is improving steadily. This is clearly visible every year, as more of the top wineries jostle for awards and prizes. However, there is still woefully little awareness of the rising quality of the wines among Indian consumers, who often prefer to pop a bottle from Australia or South Africa than splash out on wine from Nashik or Nandi Hills.

Apropos to this, one of the most interesting changes for me at this year’s awards was IWA founder Sonal Holland MW’s decision to create a common judging category where both Indian and imported international wines were judged on par, separated only by grape or style. For the 2019 edition, 320 wines were entered in the tasting competition, of which Indian wine to international wines was in the encouraging ratio of 50:50. Said Holland, “It gives me great joy to report that throughout the blind tastings, the (Indian) wines held their own. As India’s wine industry matures, and domestic wines go from strength to strength, I’m happy to share we are the first awards in India to recognise that at comparable price-points, well-made examples of Indian wines are on par with international ones for their world-class attributes.” Of the 12 wines adjudged Best in Show, 5 were Indian wine, spread across several producers and styles.

So, good news here.

Imported wines still rule in the Indian market

However, for India’s beleaguered importers, struggling to deal with whimsical and arbitrary policy changes and regulations, the results were also good. Holland explained, “It is the international labels which are growing at a faster clip and are contributing to the depth and understanding of wine and its culture in India.”

More good news, then, all around.

While we bask in the light of these positives, do go through the list of winners below. For more details on the India Wine Awards, please check here.