Stylish, fashionable and healthy, wine has turned into a status symbol

Whisky is for the discerning, rum for the robust, vodka for the light-hearted and beer for the macho. But wine today is for the fashionable and healthy. Red and white, Italian and French, dry and sweet, fruity and fresh, cheap and expensive — there’s plenty to choose from, and Calcuttans are learning to lap it all up.

What the industry describes as “the fastest growing segment in alcohol” is finally catching up here, with cellars in five-star hotels, tasting sessions by corporates and dinner parties that just aren’t complete without wine. And with recent research suggesting that a glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away, raising a red or a white is right in the fitness of things.

“Awareness is growing, as is the market, and it has now become a status symbol,” observes Ranvir Bhandari, general manager, ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton and Towers. “The only restaurant (Pan Asian) in the city where guests can walk into the cellar and choose their wine has hit the right note,” he adds.

At Mainland China, too, alcohol sales are up, and not just during the festive season. A significant rise is in wine, red and white, Indian and imported, says manager Debashis Ghosh, because people are learning to enjoy it with their meals. This is echoed by air commodore Menon of Tollygunge Club, who adds that wine consumption at the food points is on the upswing.

“It is much more socially acceptable to be seen with a wine glass than with any other alcohol in Calcutta,” says an industry source. “There are still a lot of people, especially women, who don’t want to be seen with ‘booze’. But wine is fine — it’s stylish, fashionable, healthy, has relatively less alcohol content and is a good initiator. There are wine dinner parties now, which were unheard of even a few months ago.”

A variety of wines is making its way to the dinner table, and consumers can actually name more than a few. “Most popular are imported brands from Chile, California, South Africa and Italy. There are always takers for Bordeaux and Burgundy, while the connoisseurs go for Chateaubriand and Chardonnay. But Indian wines have also improved, and they’re doing quite well,” observes Bhandari.

And it’s not just for the older and richer crowd any more, with the age of wine-drinkers dropping from 40-plus to 30-plus, and the price tag plummeting to Rs 250 for a bottle of “decent wine”, according to hoteliers and distributors.

The figures speak for themselves. At The Park, last year, while food sales were up by 20 to 25 per cent, alcohol consumption rose by 40 per cent, says Anirban Simlai, food and beverages manager. “Even at Tantra, you can spot youngsters with wine glasses in hand.”

Calcutta, though, has some catching up to do. “I sell about 400 to 500 cases in Calcutta, as opposed to over 1,000 in Mumbai,” says Vikram Soni of Essem Agencies, a distributor. Adrian Pinto, general manager, national sales and marketing, Sula Vineyards, adds: “It’s 250 cases here, and about 2,500 in Mumbai.”

Both Calcutta statistics, however, are up from six months ago. Pinto is due in town next week for a wine-tasting session for corporate executives. “We view Calcutta as an expanding market with huge potential, and we are tapping into that,” he sums up.