Upcoming Wine Events

The IFE normally marks the opening of the Food and Wine exhibitions scene in India annually. The IIWFS which was scheduled for December has now been postponed to March and will be held in Mumbai. Vinitaly, the annual Italian Wine Fiesta is tentatively planned for April after being postponed from the earlier dates in January.

IIWF 2009 is India's first large international exhibition dedicated entirely to the wine industry. Bringing together the country's entire community of wine importers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers, along with noteworthy large-scale buyers including hotels, airlines and restaurants, this event is the single most important platform for international and Indian wine producers, exporters and marketers to firmly establish themselves in the Indian market. More details here.

Pune Wine Festival

The second edition of the Pune Wine festival was held on the 13th and 14th of December, 2008. A total number of 14 wineries participated at the festival showcasing more than 50 wines. The event was carefully planned with a number of attractions like guided wine tastings by experts, Blind tastings, Wine Cocktail demonstrations and cooking with wine demos amongst others. “This is where we want our wines to be tasted’ was the response of wineries when we started working towards hosting the second Pune Wine Tasting Festival”, said B. Shankarnarayan, Moderator, Pune Gourmet Club, the organizing body behind the festival.

IFE held in New Delhi

The IFE was held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from the 2nd-4th of December. The IFE works a s a good platform for new Food and Beverage companies entering the Indian market to showcase their products. Though this year the attendance was low at the fair with some business houses pulling out at the last moment due to the Mumbai terror attacks, the event nonetheless managed to attract a good amount of interest from the importers and distributors community. Apart from all the business that was conducted, the IFE had a good amount of events that were planned as a part of it. There were numerous guided wine tasting sessions on French, Italian, Australian and New Zealand Wines. Apart from this there was also a Sommelier Championship hosted for F&B professionals.

lndia Wine Challenge, 2008

The India Wine Challenge was held as a part of the IFE with 500 wines from leading vineyards around the world being tasted “blind” in both London and New Delhi by a panel of internationally renowned judges, chaired by and organised in association with Robert Joseph, former Chairman of the International Wine Challenge London. Leading the winning wines were: Spy Valley Gewerztraminer 2008 from New Zealand (Best White), Shaw & Smith Shiraz 2006 from Australia (Best Red Wine) and Devaux Cuvee 'D' Brut Champagne(Best Sparkling). Indian wines won eight medals with Château Indage Marquise de Pompadour, Château D’Ori Cabernet Merlot 2007 and Sula 2008 Late Harvest Chenin each winning silver medals.

Vini Portugal Portuguese wine tasting in India

November, 2008 : India witnessed the biggest ever tasting of Portuguese wines with the first such event at the Portuguese Ambassador's residence in Delhi, where 14 producers were present with about 130 labels to charm the palates of its wine lovers before moving on to Goa and Mumbai.

The evening attracted nearly 200 invitees comprising of importers, F&B professionals, food & beverage critics and journalists, wine consultants and the odd wine aficionado. Of the participating producers, the following were present in Delhi, Goa and Mumbai:

Aliança Vinhos de Portugal
Casa Santa Vitória
Casa Santos Lima
Cortes de Cima
D&F Vinhos de Portugal
Dão Sul
DFJ Vinhos
Encostas de Estremoz
Henrique José de La Puente Sancho Uva
José Maria da Fonseca Vinhos
Kilburn & Gomes
Vidigal Wines
Wines & Winemakers