Four Seasons to go premium

PUNE: After its entry-level Zinzi wine, United Spirits��� wine subsidiary Four Seasons Wines Limited (FSWL) will launch mid-priced and premium ranges of wine in 2009. The Vijay Mallya-owned vinery plans to develop new markets in the country for the wine, which will be bottled in its new vinery near Baramati, around 100 km from Pune.

FSWL is a joint venture between USL and the family of Union Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. It will also offer equity shareholding to grape farmers with whom it will have long-term contracts for sourcing wine grapes.

Four Seasons wine is expected to drive FSWL���s growth in the Indian market, according to FSWL director Abhay Kewadkar. ���The Indian wine market has a huge potential for growth. We will expand the market, reaching out to high-income customers aged 25-40, who understand sophisticated lifestyle, but are unexposed to wine. We will be present at events like derbies and exhibitions and also organise food and wine pairing events,��� he said.

According to a recent study by International Wine & Spirits Record, Indian wine consumption may touch 188 lakh litres by 2011 from 60 lakh litres in 2006. New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Bangalore account for nearly 80% of the Indian wine sales.