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| Challenges of being a Pioneer |
| By Radhika Puar |
| An evening “around delectable food, ambrosial wines, and amusing conversations” at the JW Marriott Aerocity New Delhi. India’s oldest surviving wine company, Grover Zampa Vineyards (GZ), unveiled the new avatar of La Réserve. |
| Dressed in a new robe, La Réserve Barbeques, is being positioned as a true gourmet experience. This is an emotional moment in the company’s history. Since it was created in 1998 under technical guidance from the world renowned oenologue, Michel Rolland, La Réserve has been the flagship of the portfolio and the go-to reserve wine in India. |
| The founder of the company, Mr Kanwal Grover, was a frequent visitor to France in the 1960s and 1970s, where he developed a taste for French style wines and dreamt to create wines of that calibre in India!! The first vineyard was set up in 1992 with the help of George Vesselle (the technical director of Champagne Mumm). Michel Rolland came on board in 1995 and to this day remains committed to Grover’s dream. Vallée de Vin wine company owners, Mr Ravi Jain, Mr Deepak Roy and Mr Neeraj Deorah merged to form “Grover Zampa” in 2012. |
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Kapil Grover, Deepak Roy, Ravi Jain, Neeraj Deorah, Sumedh Mandla (L to R) |
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| Today Mr Kapil Grover (son of Mr Kanwal Grover) is the Chairman of GZ. His daughter Karishma Grover (a graduate of UC Davis’ wine program) is Associate Wine Maker, and Mr. Sumedh Singh Mandla (SSM) is CEO. |
| They say, “to make a million dollars in wine, go in with a billion”. They say, “the conditions in India are difficult”. Chatting with Mr Mandla, I was curious how GZ had grown over the years and managed very tough policies as well as growing competition, and I got delightfully detailed responses to my queries. |
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Sumedh Mandla, CEO, Grover Zampa Vineyards |
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| Indian landscape: SSM echoed my thoughts about the policy related challenges for wine in India and elaborated – cumbersome registration, various and high taxes and a very tough distribution eco-system – but thought that, “GZ is a pioneer and the most awarded producer in India. We have managed to sustain quality as we grew through our journey. GZ has the biggest challenge for us in the future will be to satisfy the consumers’ demand in terms of quality wine making and grape availability – and we have already started to work on this”. |
| Competition: Imported Wine (bottled-in-origin) and Sula are our main competition. GZ provides wine with varied styles and tastes that are typical to varietal characteristics at varied price points – a positioning that resonates with their Target Group. |
| Strengths: GZ is the only wine producer in India to have wineries and vineyards in both the major wine producing regions of India, something that the merger of the two constituents brought. Building on their strengths and distinctiveness, GZ created “experiential marketing initiatives” that have helped them to attract a steady stream of consumers loyal to their brands. |
| Focus: SSM told me that GZ had geared up to now target the “more evolved wine drinkers” and are working on “premiumising” their portfolio by making the “highest quality wine”. This had been endorsed by the many accolades that the company had received over a period of time. “To give credibility to our fine wines, we have stepped up participation in wine competitions across the globe. We have received 57 awards in 3 years and many in our range boast of being the highest awarded wines in their respective category. |
| Markets: Riding on their awards, GZ has made steady inroads into the export market and currently export to 25 countries with France, Japan and the UK ranking in their top export markets. But the Indian market has not been ignored, either. “We have increased our distribution in the Indian market. We have undertaken numerous wine education initiatives for the trade and consumers alike and have created large scale consumer interaction platforms like “The Great Grover Wine Festival” in Bengaluru. Besides creating the buzz that is needed, they also help us deliver excellent products to satisfy consumer aspirations.” |
| Portfolio: GZ have a very large and diverse portfolio of premium and super premium wines. “Our endeavour is to target consumer groups based on demographics, psychographics, and awareness of wine. Each wine has been created for a different segment and we have evolved the positioning keeping in mind the width and depth of the evolving Indian consumers and competition.” |
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La Réserve – India’s best known, largest selling, most exported and much awarded reserve. |
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Chêne – A Tempranillo blend that has long ageing in barrel |
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VA Collection – The first celebrity endorsed wine from India dedicated to legendary tennis professional, Vijay Amritraj. |
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Soireé – Most awarded Indian sparkling wine. Based on Shiraz (Brut Rosé) and Chenin (Brut) |
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Art Collection – Premium wines that marry art and wine |
| Future: SSM has a multi-pronged approach, “We will work towards growing our reach, adding more vineyard acreage, introducing new varietals and styles, continuing innovation in wine and packaging so that GZ keeps producing top quality wines consistently. We will continue to invest in training and tasting events and plan novel activations to grow the wine culture in India. We shall also be working towards expanding our hospitality offer to help grow Wine Tourism.” |
| GZ claim that their journey has been one from humble beginning to an insignia of conviviality – GZ stands for its heritage, rich culture and exceptional craftsmanship and wines that have been created with great passion and reverence for tradition. I hope that they will continue to drive the offer so that consumer like myself can enjoy the fruits of their labour. |
| Radhika Puar was invited by Grover Zampa to this evening for wine and hospitality professionals of the city. |
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