|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Australia Business Week in India, New Delhi | |||||||||||||
| By Team vino india | |||||||||||||
| Hon. Andrew Robb, the Trade and Investment Minister of Australia held out a proposition to facilitate business around the ICC Cricket World Cup to the Indian business community in January, and it was received with the expected enthusiasm. Cricket after all, runs in the blood of these two commonwealth nations! The reference to cricket might have been incidental and to attract attention, because the agenda to take Indo-Australian trade to a level as never before, had been set by the Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and Narendra Modi during their reciprocal visits in 2014. | |||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
Australia Business Week in India, New Delhi (Photo: PP Chowdhury) |
|||||||||||||
| As part of the growing strategic Indo-Australian bi-lateral relationship, Minister Robb led a 450 strong delegation to New Delhi and Mumbai to showcase Australian capabilities and identify opportunities at the Australia Business Week in India (ABWI). The multi-sectoral delegation had business leaders and government functionaries from 14 focus sectors, including Premium Food and Beverages. Wine is an important offering from Australia, which is the fourth largest exporter of wine worldwide and THE largest exporter to India. | |||||||||||||
| At the inaugural business summit of the ABWI, that was held at the Durbar Hall of Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi the visiting Minister Robb said, “there is something special going on in India. Australia is looking forward to being a part of this very important period in India’s re-emergence as a significant power.” He launched the “Austrade 2015 Benchmark Report”, a comprehensive document highlighting the distinct advantages of doing business in Australia. | |||||||||||||
| THE WINE TRACK | |||||||||||||
| The wine activities of ABWI were managed by Rajiv Singhal of Group Ritu (and also Chief Executive of vino india) and Austrade. A panel discussion on the "Market for Wine in India - Synergy with Australian Capabilities" was hosted for the benefit of the visiting wine companies with industry leaders from both countries : Michael Carter, Trade Commissioner, Austrade; Stuart Barclay, General Manager Market Development, Australian Grape and Wine Authority; Slava Zeman, Department of Agriculture, Australian Government; Rohit Mehra, Chairman and Managing Director, Mohan Brothers; Tejinder Singh, Head of Food & Beverage, ITC Hotels; Priyanka Chadha, House of Spirits (a unit of Brindco); Chef Sabyasachi Gorai and the moderator – Rajiv Singhal, President, Group Ritu. | |||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
Panel discussion |
|||||||||||||
| Senator Richard Colbeck, Parliamentary Secretary of Agriculture, Government of Australia spent some time with the group and led the free-wheeling discussion on topics like labelling laws of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the consumer profile in India, the role of media due to the advertising ban on alcoholic beverages and the opportunity of Aussie wine with Indian cuisine. The d'Arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay served to set the tone and during the networking amongst the participants was very welcome. | |||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
Australian Wine Masterclass in New Delhi |
|||||||||||||
| Post lunch, an Australian Wine Masterclass was conducted by Sommelier Magandeep Singh for a group of 49 pre-registered people comprising importers, F&B professionals and wine writers/ bloggers. Senator Colbeck re-emphasised the importance of wine in Australia with his presence and introduced the Australian wine industry. 10 wines were presented to the master class, with each winery showing a ‘hero wine’. It was not surprising to see a majority of Shiraz in the glasses on an attractive tasting mat. Some of the showcased brands like Jacob’s Creek Reserve, Penfolds Koonunga Hill, McGuigan Rosé, d'Arenberg Ironstone Pressings, Brand’s Laira are already present on the Indian market through their distribution. Five new wineries had a good opportunity to debut and were presented by each of the travelling winery representatives. A show of hands established the following top three wines for the evening: | |||||||||||||
| Wine: Ulupna ‘Special Reserve’ Shiraz 2012
Region: Goulborn Valley, Victoria Ulupna means “sheep” in the aboriginal language. The owners of the winery chose this name to aptly represent this region that is blessed with natural habitat. The wine was deep ruby in colour with aromas of ripe red fruits, spice, and a dry, well structured palate. A hint of oak towards the end added to the lingering finish. The USP of the wine was its fruit orientation largely preferred by the Indian palate. |
|||||||||||||
| Wine: Nova Vita 2009 Firebird Shiraz Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia The winemaker highlights this wine as a ‘cold climate’ Shiraz as related to Australia and a planting density three times more than the accepted norm for the region, with the aim of intensify the flavours. The wine displayed a strong character with firm yet pleasant tannins and a dry, full bodied palate. The aromas and flavours ranged from dark fruits, spice and oak. A good food wine. |
|||||||||||||
| Wine: McGuigan Black Label Shiraz Rosé
Region: South Eastern Australia This Australian Vintage wine is already selling in India through importers Hema Connoisseur Collections. It was the only Rosé wine to be tasted, hence quite logically tasted tout d’abord. The wine had an inviting salmon pink colour complemented by a perfumed nose of strawberries and red cherries. On the palate, the first attack appeared off-dry, which developed into unmistakable dry towards the finish. The winemaker shared that the residual sugar in the wine was just 9 grams, so it is the level of fruit extraction making it redolently sweet. The flavours on palate matched the aromas of strawberries and fresh red cherries. |
|||||||||||||
| A very busy day concluded with a grand gala reception hosted in the honour of Minister Robb and the visiting delegation by the Australian High Commissioner to India, H.E. Patrick Suckling on the grand lawns of his Residence in New Delhi for around a grand congregation of 600 guests. Choicest Australian preparations inspired by the celebrity chef Adam D Sylva, were executed to perfection by the kitchens of the Hyatt Regency New Delhi. In the chilling temperatures, the lovely lamb cuts were piping hot and delicious – and great accompaniments to the range of Penfolds wines. | |||||||||||||
| KEY TAKEAWAYS OF ABWI | |||||||||||||
| vino india spoke to P.S.Krishnan, Head of Marketing for South Asia in Austrade to understand the impact of ABWI. To present Australian wines to the Indian wine trade, hospitality and retail sector to understand the typical market requirements was the primary aim of ABWI, according to Mr. Krishnan. At the same time, ABWI offered an opportunity to Australian companies to interact with the wine importers and key customers, specially in the hospitality sector. To that measure, Austrade feel that the objectives have been well served. | |||||||||||||
| With reference to representing to the Government to ease the perceivably stiff and choking taxation on wine in India, Mr. Krishnan is realistic in emphasizing that while Australia would always welcome and hope for an open market for Australian exporters, Australian brands will aspire to grow in India inspite of these challenges, similar to other international brands. | |||||||||||||
| THE FUTURE | |||||||||||||
| Australia is a wine region that the Indian consumer knows well, and it enjoys a sizeable share of his throat. Several Australian producers and suppliers of premium wines are already looking to supply to the fast growing Indian premium retail and hospitality sector. Austrade confirms that they, along with leading stakeholders from the Australian wine sector, plan to develop their market in India with actions that will not only help them to increase awareness on wine regions of Australia, but also to desirably position Australian wines in the value pyramid of the Indian consumers. We are assured that we can expect to see heightened wine activity from Australia in the near future. | |||||||||||||
| The Indian wine enthusiast, of course, is not likely to complain! | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
