1

Wine in India

Indian wine is wine made in India. Per capita consumption of wine in India is 9 milliliters.Viticulture in India has a long history dating back to the time of the Indus Valley civilization when grapevines were believed to have been introduced from Persia. Winemaking has existed throughout most of India's history but was particularly encouraged during the time of the Portuguese and British colonization of the subcontinent. The end of the 19th century saw the phylloxera louse take its toll on the Indian wine industry followed by religious and public opinion moving towards the prohibition of alcohol. Following the country's independence from the British Empire, the Constitution of India declared that one of the government's aims was the total prohibition of alcohol[1] . Several states went dry[citation needed] and the government encouraged vineyards to convert to table grape and raisin production. In the 1980s and 1990s, a revival in the Indian wine industry took place as international influences and the growing middle class increased started increasing demand for the beverage. By the turn of the 21st century, demand was increasing at a rate of 20-30% a year.

Viticulture was believed to have been introduced to India by Persian traders sometime in the 4th millennia BC. Historians believe that these early plantings were used mostly for table grapes or grape juice rather than the production of an alcoholic beverage. During the Vedic period of the 2nd and 1st millennia, the Aryans tribes of the region were known for their indulgence of intoxicating drink and it seems probable that wine was a present beverage. The religious text of the Vedas mentions at least one alcoholic drink that may have been wine related-sura which seems to have been a type of rice wine that was fermented with honey. The first known mentioning of grape-based wines was in the late 4th century BC writings of Chanakya who was the chief minister of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. In his writings, Chanakya condemns the use of alcohol while chronicling the emperor and his court's frequent indulgence of a style of grape wine known as Madhu.[2] In the centuries that would follow, wine became the privileged drink of the Kshatriya or noble class while the lower caste typically drank alcohol made from wheat, barley and millet. Under the rule of the Muslim Mughal Empire, alcohol was prohibited in accordance to Islamic dietary laws. However there are written reports about at least one Mughal ruler, Jahangir, who was fond of brandy wine. In the 16th century, Portuguese colonists at Goa introduced port-style

and the production of fortified wines soon spread to other regions. Under British rule during the Victorian era, viticulture and winemaking was strongly encouraged as a domestic source for the British colonists. Vineyards were planted extensively through the Baramati, Kashmir and Surat regions. In 1883 at the Calcutta International Exhibition, Indian wines were showcased to a favorable reception. The Indian wine industry was reaching a peak by the time the phylloxera epidemic made its way to country and devastated its vineyards.[2]
wine

It was a long road for the Indian wine industry to recover from the devastation at the end of the 19th century. Unfavorable religious and public opinion on alcohol developed and culminated in the 1950s when many of India's states prohibited alcohol. Vineyards were either uprooted or encouraged to convert to table grape and raisin production. Some areas, like Goa, continued to produce wine but the product was normally very sweet and highly alcoholic. The turning part of the modern Indian wine industry occurred in early 1980s with the founding of Chateau Indage in the state of Maharashtra. With the assistance of French winemakers, Chateau Indage began to import Vitis vinifera grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot blanc, Pinot noir and Ugni blanc and started making still and sparkling wines. Other wineries soon followed as the emergence of India's growing middle class fueled the growth and development of the Indian wine industry.

Climate and geography

While a large portion of the Indian subcontinent is not ideal for viticulture, the large diversity of climate and geology does cover some areas with suitable terroir for winemaking to thrive. The summer growing season in India tends to be very hot and prone to monsoons. Many of India's wine regions also fall within the tropical climate band. Vineyards are then planted at higher altitudes along slopes and hillsides to benefit from cooler air and some protection from wind. The altitude of India's vineyards typically range from around 660 ft (200 m) in Karnataka, 984 ft (300 m) in Maharashtra, 2,600 ft (800 m) along the slopes of the Sahyadri to 3,300 ft (1000 m) in Kashmir. Summertime temperature can get as hot as 113 F (45 C) and wintertime lows can fall to 46F (8C). During the peak growing season between June and August, rainfall averages 25 60 inches (625-1,500 mm)

Wine regions
Vineyards in India range from the more temperate climate of the northwestern state of Punjab down to the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Some of India's larger wine producing areas are located in Maharashtra, Karnataka near Bangalore and Andhra Pradesh near Hyderabad. Within the Maharashtra region, vineyards are found on the Deccan Plateau and around Baramati, Nashik, Pune, Sangli and Solapur. The high heat and humidity of the far eastern half of the country limits viticultural activity

Viticulture and wine

The heat and humidity of India's wine region dictates many of the viticultural choices that are made in the vineyards. Vines are often trained on bamboo and wire in a pergola to increase canopy cover and to get the grapes off the ground where they would be more prone to fungal diseases. The canopy protects the grapes against sunburn and rows are spaced wide to help with aeration between the vines. Irrigation is essential in many of India's wine regions and since the 1980s, drip irrigation has been widely used. The tropical conditions often promote high yields which requires frequent pruning throughout the year. Harvest normally takes place in September and is usually done by hand. In the very warm wine regions of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, grapevines can produce a crop twice a year.[2] India is home to several indigenous table grape varieties that can also be used in wine production with Anabeshahi, Arkavati and Arkashyam being the most common. Popular non-native grapes include the Bangalore Blue (Isabella) and Gulabi (Black Muscat). The Turkish grape Sultana is the most widely planted grape in India, cover more than half of the 148,000 acres (60,000 ha) planted in the country. In addition to the imported French varieties that Chateau Indage planted, Sauvignon blanc, Zinfandel, Chenin blanc and Clairette have started to establish a presence in the Indian wine industry.

Globalization of Wine
Globalization is the expansion of brands across nations and into other continents. In food and wine it refers to the whole problem of making the product global. The primary issue is scaling production while reducing the costs of goods with processes. In marketing it refers to wearing the mantle of fine food and wine, and increasing 100-point scores. In sales it refers to capturing the growth", says California winemaker Leo McCloskey

Wine has been traded internationally since ancient times. In the wake of the amphoras came professional winemakers, winemaking techniques, and cuttings of grapevines. Many grapes that are considered 'traditional' in Western Europe were in fact brought by ancient trade routes from the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea region. The Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Turks all brought grapes to new homes. There was a second wave of migration to the New World, under the European empires of the 16th-19th centuries - by the early 18th century South Africa was exporting Constantia to Europe, made with muscat grapes that originated in Egypt. Subsequent immigrants have brought their native wines and grapes wherever they have gone - the Italian influence on Argentine and Californian winemaking is particular noteworthy. Wines from Portugal and Madeira were fortified to survive journeys across the world, and left their mark on wines in the colonies that aped their style and were named after them. The phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century also had a big influence, destroying traditional field blends of indigenous grapes in vineyards, which were often replaced by monocultures of fashionable grapes such as the Bordeaux varieties - grafted, of course, onto rootstocks from North America. Vignerons faced a stark choice, either adopt the new techniques, or choose another profession. Phylloxera was the stimulus for the development of a new infrastructure of government breeding programmes and exchange of plant material and techniques. After the Second World War, a number of countries developed bland wines for the export market, with an emphasis on uniformity and branding, such as Mateus Rose and Blue Nun. These were welcomed by a mass market - and the multiple retailers who served them - and those same factors have helped

similar brands to gain more power, although changes in fashion mean that the names have changed. The modern equivalents come from industrial irrigated vineyards in the New World, in regions such as Murray Darling in southern Australia and Worcester in South Africa. Such moves reflect changes in the general scale of food production in industrialised countries. Another aspect of this is the rise of varietal labelling, which has made the big companies less tolerant of blends of obscure grapes, instead preferring to market 'big name' varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah (Shiraz), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Another growing trend has been the practice of the blending of bulk wine from other countries with local wine. In some cases, a wine marketed as a local product may be sourced entirely from elsewhere. Regulations on this practice vary widely, depending on the jurisdiction. The Judgment of Paris in 1976 and subsequent wine competitions helped winemakers throughout the New World realize that they could make wines equal to the very best produced anywhere in the world as well educating some markets about the potential of wine outside Europe. This process was much easier in some countries like England, with little indigenous production and a centuries-old tradition of importing wine from around the world, than it was in other countries. Further competitions brought to international attention other great wines from around the world, some of which like Penfolds Grange had already been made for decades. A major influence has been the wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. among consumers in the United States. His approval can make a massive difference to sales of a wine in the United States, and some winemakers in some parts of the world have been accused of chasing this market by changing their wines to suit his personal taste. This effect is the main subject of the documentary film Mondovino. His points system is influential, particularly among retailers as a substitute for staff training.

Flying winemakers
The development of the airliner has had a big effect on the wine business. This has made it much easier for individuals to directly supervise

viticulture and winemaking in different countries across the globe, rather than exchanging ideas by mail as they have for centuries. This means that they can have much closer control of the wine, and has seen new technologies such as Drip irrigation, new trellis systems and techniques, and other developments in viticulture spread rapidly. This all leads to a more homegenous product, influenced more by the winemaker's background than the local terroir and history. On the other hand, that 'history' often included overoaking and dirty facilities that partly oxidised the wines, which are rapidly fixed by flying winemakers. Many of the early flying winemakers were Australians who had been educated in modern techniques, and used the fact that their autumn was six months ahead of the Northern Hemisphere to 'moonlight' when things were quiet at home. They have had some dramatic success in improving the quality of Old World wines, particularly in the South of France and in the former Communist countries. Some of the most influential flying winemakers now are: Frenchman Michel Rolland from Pomerol who advises over 100 wineries in 13 countries but has probably had most influence on the chateaux around his home, and Italian Alberto Antonini who has been involved with the Antinori and Frescobaldi families in Italy and similarly advises close to 100 wineries in 14 countries. Rolland is criticised by Mondovino as he favours a style similar to that liked by Parker.

Return to terroir
On the other hand, as New World winemaking has matured, winemakers have taken more notice of terroir, and matching grapes and winemaking styles to particular locations. Thus New World styles are starting to develop, such as Clare Valley Riesling, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and 'indigenous' varieties such as Pinotage are being proudly marketed as single-varietal wines rather than blended. In Europe, there is renewed interest in heritage wines, particularly by the new democracies in Eastern Europe where wine can be a statement of national identity. A particularly good example is seen in Eger in Hungary, where the local Bull's Blood wine has seen a steady infusion of foreign grapes such as Blaufrnkisch in the 18th century, the Bordeaux varieties after

phylloxera struck, and Zweigelt under communism. This is now being reversed with substantial new planting of the traditional Kadarka variety which itself was brought from Serbia[citation needed] by the Turkish invasion of the 16th century. Another example is Domaine Gauby, who in 2000 turned their back on a big, Parker-friendly style for their flagship Muntada wine, in favour of a more traditionally French style.

Production
Wine production by country 2006[1] Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Country Production (with link to wine article) (tonnes)
France Italy Spain United States Argentina Australia China South Africa Chile Germany

5,349,333 4,711,665 3,643,666 2,232,000 1,539,600 1,410,483 1,400,000 1,012,980 977,087 891,600

Wine production by country 2007[1] Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Country Production (with link to wine article) (tonnes)
Italy France Spain United States Argentina

5,050,000 4,711,600 3,645,000 2,300,000 1,550,000

8 6 7 8 9 10
China South Africa Australia Germany Chile

1,450,000 1,050,000 961,972 891,600 827,746

Wine production by country 2009[2]

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 =11 =11 13 14 15 16 17 18 Country (with link to wine article)
Italy France Spain United States China Argentina Australia South Africa Chile Germany Romania Portugal Russia Greece Brazil Hungary Austria Ukraine

Production (tonnes) 4,994,940 4,630,800 3,250,610 2,231,600 1,580,000 1,213,550 1,178,440 1,050,000 986,935 950,000 610,000 610,000 501,000 425,000 340,000 323,610 235,188 231,000

9 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Serbia New Zealand Bulgaria Moldova Macedonia Switzerland Croatia Uruguay

202,368 200,000 164,525 124,200 113,500 111,354 78,000 61,784

The following is a list of wine-producing countries and their volume of wine production for the year 2005 in metric tonnes. Data is reported from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is an agency of the United Nations. Their data show a total worldwide production of 26,900,685 tonnes of wine with the top ten producing countries accounting for over 80% of that total.[1] This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes grow beyond this range and minor amounts of wine are made in some very unexpected places. In 2005, the five largest producers of wine in the world were, in order, Italy, France, Spain, the United States and Argentina (see list of wine-producing countries for a complete rank).
Wine grapes grow almost exclusively between thirty and fifty degrees north or south of the equator. The world's southernmost vineyards are in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island near the 45th parallel south,[2] and the northernmost are in Flen, Sweden, just north of the 59th parallel north.

10

List of wine-producing regions

This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes grow beyond this range and minor amounts of wine are made in some very unexpected places. In 2005, the five largest producers of wine in the world were, in order, Italy, France, Spain, the United States and Argentina (see list of wine-producing countries for a complete rank).

Contents
[hide]
1 Africa

o o o o o

1.1 Algeria 1.2 Cape Verde 1.3 Morocco 1.4 South Africa 1.5 Tunisia

2 Americas

o o o o o o o

2.1 Argentina 2.2 Bolivia 2.3 Brazil 2.4 Canada 2.5 Chile 2.6 Mexico 2.7 Peru

11 o o o
2.8 United States 2.9 Uruguay 2.10 Venezuela

3 Europe

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

3.1 Austria 3.2 Armenia 3.3 Azerbaijan 3.4 Belgium 3.5 Bulgaria 3.6 Croatia 3.7 Cyprus 3.8 Czech Republic 3.9 Denmark 3.10 France 3.11 Georgia 3.12 Germany 3.13 Greece 3.14 Hungary 3.15 Ireland 3.16 Italy 3.17 Luxembourg 3.18 Macedonia 3.19 Moldova 3.20 Montenegro 3.21 Netherlands 3.22 Poland 3.23 Portugal

12 o o o o o o o o o o o
4 Asia 3.24 Romania 3.25 Russia 3.26 Serbia 3.27 Slovakia 3.28 Slovenia 3.29 Spain 3.30 Sweden 3.31 Switzerland 3.32 Turkey 3.33 Ukraine 3.34 United Kingdom

o o o o o o o o o o o o

4.1 China 4.2 India 4.3 Iran 4.4 Israel 4.5 Japan 4.6 Kazakhstan 4.7 Republic of Korea 4.8 Lebanon 4.9 Burma 4.10 Palestinian territories 4.11 Syria 4.12 Vietnam

5 Oceania

o o

5.1 Australia 5.2 New Zealand

13
6 References

India
See also: Indian wine
Bangalore, Karnataka Nashik, Maharashtra Sangli, Maharashtra Narayangaon Pune, Maharashtra Bijapur, Karnataka

History of wine
The history of wine spans thousands of years and is closely intertwined with the history of agriculture, cuisine, civilization and humanity itself. Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest known wine production occurred in Georgia around 8,000 BC, with other notable sites in Iran and Armenia dated 7,000 BC and 6000 BC, respectively.[1][2][3] The archaeological evidence becomes clearer and points to domestication of grapevine in Early Bronze Age sites of the Near East, Sumer and Egypt from around the third millennium BC.[4] Evidence of the earliest wine production in the Balkans has been uncovered at archaeological sites in Macedonia, dated to 6,500 years ago.[5][6] These same sites also contain remnants of the world's earliest evidence of crushed grapes.[5] In Egypt, wine became a part of recorded history, playing an important role in ancient ceremonial life. Traces of wild wine dating from the second and first millennium BC have also been found in China.[7] Wine, tied in myth to Dionysus/Bacchus, was common in ancient Greece and Rome, [8] and many of the major wine-producing regions of Western Europe today were established with Phoenician and later Roman plantations.[9] Winemaking technology, such as the wine press, improved considerably during

14

the time of the Roman Empire; many grape varieties and cultivation techniques were known and barrels were developed for storing and shipping wine.[9] In medieval Europe, following the decline of Rome and its industrial-scale wine production for export, the Christian Church became a staunch supporter of the wine necessary for celebration of the Catholic Mass. Whereas wine was forbidden in medieval Islamic cultures, its use in Christian libation was widely tolerated and Geber and other Muslim chemists pioneered its distillation for Islamic medicinal and industrial purposes such as perfume.[10] Wine production gradually increased and its consumption became popularized from the 15th century onwards, surviving the devastating Phylloxera louse of the 1870s and eventually establishing growing regions throughout the world.

Early history
Through an extensive gene-mapping project in 2006, Dr. McGovern and his colleagues analyzed the heritage of more than 110 modern grape cultivars, and narrowed their origin to a region in Georgia.[11] Additionally, tartaric acid has been identified in ancient pottery jars by Patrick McGovern's team at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Records include ceramic jars from Neolithic sites at Shulaveri in present-day Georgia, (about 8000 BC),[1] Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of present-day Iran (54005000 BC),[2][12] and from Late Uruk (35003100 BC) occupation at the site of Uruk, in MesopotamiaUniversity Museum"The Origins and Ancient History of Wine". The identifications are based on the identification of tartaric acid and tartrate salts using a form of infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). These identifications are regarded with caution by some biochemists because of the risk of false positives, particularly where complex mixtures of organic materials, and degradation products, may be present. The identifications have not yet been replicated in other laboratories. Little is actually known of the early history of wine. It is plausible that early foragers and farmers made alcoholic beverages from wild fruits, including wild grapes of the species Vitis silvestris, ancestor to modern wine grapes. This would have become easier following the development of pottery vessels in the later Neolithic of the Near East, about 9,000 years ago. However, wild grapes are small and sour, and relatively rare at archaeological sites. It is unlikely they could have been the basis of a wine industry.

15

In his book Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), McGovern argues that the domestication of the Eurasian wine grape and winemaking could have originated on the territory of modern day Georgia and spread south from there.[13] The oldest known winery is located in the "Areni-1" cave in the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia. Archaeologists announced the discovery of this winery in January 2011, seven months after the world's oldest leather shoe, the Areni-1 shoe, was discovered in the same cave. The winery, which is over six thousand years old, contains a wine press, fermentation vats, jars, and cups. Archaeologists also found grape seeds and vines of the species Vitis vinifera. Patrick McGovern commenting on the importance of the find, said, "The fact that winemaking was already so well developed in 6000 BC suggests that the technology probably goes back much earlier."[3][14] Domesticated grapes were abundant in the Near East from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, starting in 3200 BC. There is also increasingly abundant evidence for winemaking in Sumer and Egypt in the third millennium BC. The ancient Chinese made wine from native wild "mountain grapes" like Vitis thunbergii[15] for a time, until they imported domesticated grape seeds from Central Asia in the 2nd century. Grapes were also an important food. There is slender evidence for earlier domestication of the grape, in the form of pips from Chalcolithic Tell Shuna in Jordan, but this evidence remains unpublished. Exactly where wine was first made is still unclear. It could have been anywhere in the vast region, stretching from North Africa to Central/South Asia, where wild grapes grow. However, the first large-scale production of wine must have been in the region where grapes were first domesticated, Southern Caucasus and the Near East. Wild grapes grow in Georgia, northern Levant, coastal and southeastern Turkey, northern Iran or Armenia. None of these areas can, as yet, be definitively singled out.

The wine market in India

The Indian alcohol beverage industry has a size of almost 2 billion dollars. Indians consume 60 million cases of whiskey a year, which makes them the number one whiskey

16 consuming country in the world. The beer consumption almost doubled over the last four years and was at 105 million cases in 2006.

The wine market in India today is still in its nascent stage. The industry is one million cases of wines manufactured in India and 0.15 to 0.2 million cases of imported wines. The value of the Indian wine market is around 50 million dollars or 2.5% of the total alcohol beverage industry. A lot needs to be done in terms of education, awareness and demystifying wine as a product.

But the scenario is changing rapidly: A large number of Indians have the right consumer profile to embrace wine as a lifestyle beverage! Once the privilege of the educated elite, today potential lies among the growing middle-class enjoying increasing disposable income, tourism and women consumers. The rise in consumption can also be attributed to factors including the perception of health benefits produced by wine, the fact that wine is lower in alcohol than spirits, in addition to the lifestyle image. India is switching from whiskey to wine and beer. Also big retail chains in certain states are now allowed to sell wines. More and more people are drinking wine, every new restaurant that opens in the cities has a wine list, and awareness is growing fast. Women are drinking in much bigger numbers, and often their first choice beverage is wine. The movies reflect this change, with Bollywood actresses routinely seen drinking wine, which would have been unthinkable just five years ago.

The domestic wine production for the year 2007 has grown by 37 per cent in India over the previous year and seven new wineries were added to take the total tally in India to 54 during this year. The wine consumption is expected to grow at a rate of 30% in the next 10 years. This growth is not only sustainable, but could even be conservative if duties were lowered. In the next ten years the wine consumption could reach more then 10 million cases. Presently most of the imported bottles come from France, Italy, Australia, Chile, USA, South Africa and New Zealand. France has the biggest market share of approximately 40% followed by Italy (15%) and Australia (12%). The customs for imported wines are currently 150% on the CIF (Cost, Insurance and Fright) price and many states have additional regional taxes and label registration fees. Importers need to be politically well connected and understand the local bureaucracy in all the major regional markets as each state has its own laws and alcohol lobby.

17

Up to 80% of wine is consumed in the major Indian cities: Mumbai (39%), Delhi (23%), Bangalore (9%) and the foreign tourist dominated state of Goa (9%), the remaining 20% are sold in the rest of India. Red (45%) wine is slightly preferred to white wine (40%) followed by sparkling (13%) and Ros wine (2%).