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Drink Scotch, NOT Champagne in Maharashtra-India
By: Subhash Arora	<< back   Page 2 of 2

Talking of WTO, which most seem to have forgotten about; let us not forget that the US has not withdrawn the case. One only assumes that they were not pitching in for Jack Daniels and the Bourbons to be allowed to come to India but were equally concerned abut their Napas and Oregons and will pursue with WTO with even more vigour. It will be interesting to see what way the tide turns now.

So is the imported wine industry doomed? Hopefully not. Again, it is the Indian Paradox that the same state (Maharashtra) has allowed the sale of imported wines through Retail. With big players like Reliance around, they will promote the sale of low end wines and private labels aggressively. They can well bring the Indian wine industry to its knees, if they chose to promote cheaper but quaffable imported wines, costing between Rs.80-100 FOB (about Rs. 600 retail). They have already broken all previous records of selling imported apples and are capable of repeating the same for imported wines- unless the government plays a spoil sport and clamps down on sales through Retail.

Surely, the hotel industry in Maharashtra is up in arms against the latest order too. Either they have to absorb the additional costs of 200% less Rs. 150 (they could do it, considering their mark ups have been upwards of 400-500%). Else, their business would suffer horribly. They could perhaps boycott and remove Indian wines from their menus. Their customers, in any case, are not likely to shift from Champagne to Scotch or to Indian wines if they want their Chianti Classico, Burgundy, Barolo or Barossa. They are certainly not going to pay over 10 times the price they have to pay in their country.

At a time like this, one cannot avoid thinking about Vijay Mallya’s purchase of the single malt company White and Mackay for £ 595 million and Bouvet Ladubay winery for €15 million. He gains tremendously from the Maharashtra policy. Did he use his charm to get this order passed or he just got lucky? I am too depressed to think about it right now.

Perhaps, the consumers in Maharashtra and other places should also boycott the domestic wines too as a mark of protest. Surely, drinking cheaper imported wines will not hurt for a while. It is not harmful for health anyway. But they should not forgo their rights to drink decent quality wines, like the rest of Indians have –at least as of now.

They say there is always light at the end of the tunnel. In Maharashtra, the train seems to have stopped and there is darkness all around- for decent, quaffable imported wines.

Subhash Arora

November 20, 2007

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