New Delhi, June 8: New players are set to enliven India’s nascent wine market.

The UK-based Karan Billimoria’s Cobra, famous for its beer, plans to make a foray into the 1.2-million-case-a-year Indian wine market.

The market for wines is just 1 per cent of the domestic spirits market.

United Spirits, part of the UB Group, which has acquired France’s Bouvet Ladubay, also plans to sell wine under the label of Four Seasons.

Both the firms seem to be drawn by the 30-35 per cent growth rate in India.

According to unconfirmed reports, the world’s biggest spirits company, Diageo, which has a tieup with Radico Khaitan to market its whisky, rum and brandy brands, also plans to enter the segment.

Sources said it was not known whether the company would import bottled wine or bring it in the bulk or source it locally.

Poonam Chandel, chief operating officer of Cobra Indian Beer, said, “We are getting into contract manufacturing with an Indian company whose name is yet to be finalised. We will use their facility to produce the wine.”

Cobra will provide the specifications and the Indian company will make four varieties under a single brand in a Nashik-based facility. This brand will be launched in October, Chandel said.

Cobra expects to sell 20 thousand cases in the first six months of this fiscal.

Abhay Kewadkar, chief wine maker of United Spirits and director of Four Seasons Wines, said, “We expect to sell 6 million bottles in the next five years. We are also planning to capture 30 per cent of the wine market during the same period.” Four Seasons will come out with six brands in the first year and increase this to 14 over the next five years.

United Spirits’ wine manufacturing facility, which is coming up at Baramati near Pune, will produce 600,000 bottles in the first year. Local grapes will be used for the wine. United Spirits is also planning to import wines from France, South Africa, Italy, Australia and New Zealand along with those of Bouvet Ladubay.

Three brands of Bouvet Ladubay have been launched in Mumbai and Delhi. These will be introduced in other cities as well over the next two to three months.

The industry is dominated by three players — Indage, Sula Wines and Grover Wines. The entry of Cobra, United Spirits and Diageo will change the market dynamics.

Rapid urbanisation and higher levels of income are expected to further raise the demand for wines, analysts said.