Can a cheap wine be anything but a cheap wine? Chateau Indage seems to think so. Or perhaps not. Why else would it call one of its two new budget offerings Hammer?

The new fortified port wine is sure to hit hard with 18 per cent alcohol content. Vino, its sparkling wine, on the other hand is being pitched against not other domestic sparkling wines, but beer.

At the launch on October 6 at International Club, the vineyard — which has captured “85 per cent” of the wine market with a number of labels — announced that it is looking at growing the wine market by poaching beer and spirit drinkers with affordable options. So a 375 ml bottle of Vino is available at Rs 55. Hammer is available in three sizes, at Rs 100 for 750 ml, Rs 50 for 375 ml and Rs 25 for 180 ml. “Sometimes people don’t want to drink a whole bottle of wine and these varied sizes give people a sense that that they are getting good value for money,” said Ajay Kumar Gothwal, sommelier and manager, training, Champagne Indage.

The prices have been kept down by introducing large-scale carbonation and filtration processes. They have also dispensed with corks, replacing them with crown caps.
The wines are being launched first in Bengal, as the Calcutta market is very receptive, said Dayle Rebeiro, channel manager, Chateau Indage.