The Hindu Business Line : UB Group promoting Baramati winery as lifestyle destination

Mumbai, Nov. 7 The UB Group is planning to enter the tourism industry by promoting its Four Season winery at Baramati in Maharashtra as a lifestyle destination.

Currently, the spirits and wine major is in talks with hotel chains belonging to the Taj Group and ITC Welcom Group of Hotels for starting a hotel in the area.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Sanjay Roy, head of wine marketing and sales, United Spirits said, “Our winery will become a lifestyle destination and we are already appointing travel agents to promote the area as a wine trail for our customers. Tourism would emerge as an important line of business for us going forward.”

Besides, there are plans to set up a five-star hotel within the premises of its winery and negotiations are going on with big hotel chains to launch their properties in the region.

“We are talking to the Taj and ITC to set up their hotels and the decision is still awaited on the same,” Mr Roy said.

In fact, the Maharashtra Government has already allowed wineries to sell their brands at their respective locations, thus getting tourists to buy its wines. As Mr Roy says, “As we can sell directly from the vineyards, tourism will play a major role in getting customers.”

With a focus on building its indigenous wine portfolio with brands like Zinzi and Four Seasons, United Spirits is investing in its wine project in Maharashtra and has already roped in farmers belonging to the region to give their land for cultivation of grapes.

“We are offering farmers some equity for their land holding. It roughly works out to 500 shares per acre of land owned by them,” said Mr Roy.

Having launched its Zinzi brand of wines recently, the second brand of Four Seasons is now in the offing while its premium portfolio of French wines under Bouvet Ladubay wines has already been brought into the country.

United Spirits’ Wine Business operates through two companies — United Vintners Limited and Four Seasons Wines Ltd. United Vinters has recently introduced wines from South Africa by entering into an agreement with ten Chapters of South Africa to import and market a range of wines from the country.

“We believe in having a portfolio of wines and have been importing wine brands from Australia and New Zealand in the past,” said Mr Roy. The UB Group’s wine division intends selling 5 lakh wine cases this year.

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