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| India is a market for the future |
| By Ravi Joshi |
| Joseph Drouhin is the wine producer from Burgundy that is well known among wine lovers around the world. I had the chance to meet with Christophe Thomas, Export Director of Maison Joseph Drouhin in Delhi recently. |
| Christophe has had the pleasure of being closely associated with two generations of the Drouhin family ever since he joined them in 2008. He has visited the country umpteen times and hence, is well aware of the wine scenario in India from the tax structure to the supply chain to the retail business
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Christophe Thomas, Export Director of Maison Joseph Drouhin |
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| About Maison Joseph Drouhin (MJD) |
| MJD has 73 hectares of vineyards, making it one of the largest estates in Burgundy. These vineyards are scattered all over Burgundy with almost 90% of them being Premier/Grand Cru parcels, and are planted with the principal Burgundian grape varietals Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The domaine has been put together through the years, as a result of acquisitions and agreements between families. Some of these vineyards are among the most famous in Burgundy, such as Clos des Mouches, Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, Musigny, Clos de Vougeot and Corton-Charlemagne. |
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Maison Joseph Drouhin is one of the largest estates in Burgundy |
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| MJD also owns 120 hectares of vineyards in Oregon USA, where they invested 28 years back when Robert Drouhin (third generation) was invited by the US authorities for his opinion on the potential of the, then newly emerging, wine region. He eventually ended up establishing his own winery in the, now famous, wine region. |
| Today, this family owned maison is managed by the fourth generation siblings Frederic, Veronique, Philippe and Laurent who carry out their well synergised roles with admirable resonance. MJD is also one of the highly recognized biodynamic wine producers of the world and are accredited as being the pioneers of culture raisonnée (doing away with pesticides) in vineyards. |
| The rendezvous |
| My conversation with Christophe started with the high taxes on wine in India. I was surprised to discover an entirely new outlook from a foreign stakeholder on this issue. Like the general view, Christophe does believe that lowering import duties on wine in India will achieve better proliferation but also cautions that if trade barriers become too soft, there is a likelihood of plonk wines from dubious producers coming into the market. He suggests that the Indian Government should be guarded on the quality control level. |
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It is all about quality |
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| I ask him about an incident in Burgundy this year when a famous producer was prosecuted for sourcing grapes from other appellations. Christophe is quick to point out that the errant producer is in jail as a result of proactive action by fellow vignerons who complained to the police. He believes that contrary to what many may think, this incident was a development for Burgundy wines since it proved that there exists a self-regulating mechanism within the appellation. He rues that any section of society has bad apples and one has to learn to live with this reality. |
| Such stray instances cannot take away the sheen from the famed wine region of Burgundy, as the appellation has been working towards best practices. Christophe highlights the path-breaking initiative of MJD to promote sustainability and promote biodynamic farming. The disuse of pesticides has been possible by using techniques like 'sexual confusion' (placing pheromone capsules on vines to sexually confuse the pests hence driving them away) and spraying of quartz stone mixed water into the soil to promote better water retention and hence more economical use of this precious natural resource. |
| I ask Christophe for his take on the level of wine service in hotels and restaurants and the state of wine storage and transportation in the country. He chooses to be politically correct by stating the existence of professionalism/ unprofessionalism in every walk of life. But, he also specifies some positive aspects of his Indian experience such as very good storage conditions that he noticed in the outlets of Nature's Basket and the impressive insight into consumer choices that Indian wine professionals are able to discern. He, however, is concerned about transportation due to the high variation in temperatures in the country. He stresses the need for each person in the supply chain to appreciate the laborious work that goes behind making a bottle of wine so as to accord it due respect during handling. |
| MJDs largest market is France, where their wines are listed in more than 200 Michelin starred restaurants. In Asia, their largest market is Japan. Christophe informs me that currently their most popular labels in India are (prices ex Delhi) Beaujolais Villages (₹ 2500), La Foret (₹ 2950) and Chablis Reserve de Voudon (₹ 4000). In the prestige range, the Puligny Montrachet (₹ 11500), Chassagne Montrachet (₹ 8760) and Pommard (₹ 10000) are popular. Only a few know (now, you do too) that MJD also produces limited quantities (around 1000 bottles annually) of Marc de Bourgogne an eau de vie from the region that goes mostly to star restaurants in France and Japan. |
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Listed in more than 200 Michelin starred restaurants in France |
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| Christophe feels India is a beginner but it remains an important country for them, especially in view of the changing dynamics of China another major market of wine in Asia. He quotes a study that forecasts China becoming the largest producer of wine worldwide by 2020 which coupled with recent austerity measures imposed by the Chinese Government might shrink the market for foreign wines in that country further. Hence, he emphasizes the need to look at developing other potential markets in the region, and thinks that India could surely be one such market. |
| Sumit Sehgal, Director of MJD's importer in India, Prestige Wines & Spirits told me that the purpose of Christophe's visit to India was to share more about MJD with the team members and customers in the main markets Delhi and Mumbai and find alternate opportunities to further the growth of MJD wines in India. Given the ease with which Christophe handles the wine context in India, he feels satisfied about this visit. |
| Ravi Joshi was invited by Prestige Wines and Spirits to a lunch meeting with Christophe Thomas at Guppy by Ai in central Delhi. |
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