Wines from India
First, there was only California, French, Italian, and German wine available to tantalize the U.S. market. Then came the Spanish, the Australians, and New Zealanders. We were surprised by the entrance of Washington State and even more so by cool and rainy Oregon. South Africa would soon follow. Americans were astonished to discover that world class wines were coming out of Canada. What’s next? Well, take a look at wines from India.
India is one of the last places in the world one would look to for fine wine. It’s populated largely by Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims, all of whom hold alcoholic beverages in distain. And then there’s the climate and weather. Almost all of eastern India is much too hot for viniculture and all of India is subject to the monsoons that bring strong winds and heavy rains at precisely the wrong time of the year.
Unlikely as it would appear, India is the latest player in the international appetite for fine wine and its products are beginning to appear in the U.S. market. Promoters of wines from India are quick to note that while alcohol has been largely forbidden to India’s lower classes, it was a preferred treat for the ruling class. Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, is often cited as an example. But the modern Indian wine industry really began in 1979 with plantings of French and native varieties in Maharashtra province east of Mumbai.
Winegrapes are now grown in six of India’s states, including Kashmir and Punjab, but the best region seems to be the Sahyadri Valley in Maharashtra, home of Chateau Indage, India’s foremost exporter of wine. Leading export varieties are Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, along with some sparkling white wine.
The wines from India are still undergoing a period of rapid expansion and an awkward adolescence. The wines do not enjoy the elegance and polish of wines from long-established regions such as Europe, the U.S., South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They are often unfined and unfiltered when they obviously need it. Over-sulfuring is very common, requiring red wines in particular to be decanted or left to breathe for at least an hour. Wines from India can be delicious but so far lack the layered complexity of wines from other New World regions.
But there’s a bright side. wines from India are not extravagantly priced. Typical high-end examples are priced in the $12-15 range and can be easily worth their cost. Beer production is in decline in India today as old customs and proscriptions are steadily eroded by the wine and food revolution that is taking the world by storm.
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