Abhay Kewadkar, one of India’s first vintners (winemaker) who began as a trainee vintner with Chateau Indage in 1984, is on a mission to popularise wine consumption across the country.

Backed by his latest venture, Tetrad Global Beverages, which imports and distributes Grand Cru Classe wines apart from other wines from across France (primarily Bordeaux), Kewadkar recently opened two wine bars in Bengaluru, in partnership with Conrad Bengaluru and Radisson Blu Atria hotels.

The wine bars in the two hotels will offer labels from the Tetrad portfolio which also offers its own private label — Early Dark, a selection of hand-made wines created in collaboration with fifth-generation winemakers Ann Arbeau and Geraud Arbeau of Vignobles Arbeau. Guests get to sample 90 ml serving of wine per glass at the wine bars instead of the standard 120 ml per serving, allowing them to taste and get acquainted with a wider variety of wines.

Kewadkar plans to open a total of 10 wine bars over the next two years in partnership with five-star hotels, and open standalone wine bars at an investment of ₹50-75 lakh per wine bar.

“Corporates and millennials no longer restrict themselves to special occasions for opening a bottle of wine. Instead, they are now ordering a glass of wine for a quick meeting or with their food. The idea of opening these wine bars is to demystify wines by driving the concept of wine by the glass. This will encourage guests to taste different wines across varietals, style and origin, which is an important part of education and awareness. The wine bars allow them to select a wine to suit their mood and palate without being intimidating,” said Kewadkar, Managing Director, Tetra Global Beverages, who was previously Executive Director of Four Seasons Wines, a subsidiary of United Spirits of the UB Group.

Instead of using imported wine dispensers that are expensive, the company has reverse-engineered a wine dispenser which is manufactured in Bengaluru for the exclusive use of its partner hotels.

Awareness

Emphasising the need to create awareness about the different kinds of wines — sweet, dry, medium bodied, heavy bodied, etc — Rishad Minocher, Executive Director, Tetrad Global Beverages, said: “It is important that customers get to taste multiple wines to know what best suits their palette because there are so many varieties of grapes and wines available across the world, which can be a very bewildering experience. Wines are a healthier option as they are paired with food or cheese and consumed alongside and not on an empty stomach. Moreover, wines have just up to 13 per cent alcohol content.”

At present, 4 million cases (12 bottles of 750 ml each per case) of wine are being sold per annum in India. Of these, 0.4 million cases, or 10 per cent, are imported wines. Of the 4 million cases, 2.5 million are premium wines and the balance are cheaper wines priced at ₹300 and below.

“While the wine market in India is growing at a CAGR of 8 per cent, imported wines are growing at a CAGR of 14 per cent. We have elicited a very good response from the two wine bars in the city and are now gearing up for the Christmas and New Year festival season sales,” Kewadkar said.

Over the next 12 months, the company’s wine labels, which are available in retail stores in Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal, will be available pan-India, in markets including Tamil Nadu, Goa, Chennai, Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra and Telangana.

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