First-ever Indian wine competition to be organised by Sommelier India (EVENT FAQs)
By Priyanka Borpujari

Wine magazine Sommelier India is organising the first ever competition for homegrown Indian wines and those imported to the country for Indian consumption. The Sommelier India Wine Competition (SIWC) will be held on November 19 and 20 at the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai. Already over 400 Indian and foreign wines have entered into the competition. The results of the competition will be announced at a gala dinner on November 20.

The wines will be judged 'blind', i.e., the label will not be visible, ensuring that the judging is fair and honest. Renowned wine expert and living legend, Steven Spurrier is the Chairman of the competition. He is also the Chairman of The Wine Society of India. Co-chairman of the competition is Reva K Singh, Publisher and Editor of Sommelier India.

According to Reva K Singh, the purpose of this competition was to give the Indian wine consumers and traders a general trade benchmark of the wines that are suitable to the Indian palette. "India as a wine producing country is still at its infancy, with wines being produced here only since about a decade. There has been a gap in communicating about the quality of wines available in the market and I am constantly asked to recommend my readers about wines. We do have a panel for our magazine that helps our readers with suggestions. However, SIWC is a more ambitious step towards providing wine lovers in India with an easy and informative way to explore the world of wine, as well as help the trade showcase their products in the country's rapidly growing market," she said.

The wines will be judged 'blind', i.e., the label will not be visible, ensuring that the judging is fair and honest. Renowned wine expert and living legend, Steven Spurrier is the Chairman of the competition. He is also the Chairman of The Wine Society of India. Reva K Singh, the Publisher & Editor of Sommelier India, India's first wine magazine is Co-chairman.

The SIWC panel of judges is predominantly Indian with international wine experts based in India. Representing importers, producers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, journalists and wine consultants, the judges comprise experienced wine professionals from across the country -- Rahul Akerkar of Indigo Restaurant; Gautam Anand of ITC, Delhi; David Banford, Director, The Wine Society of India; Alok Chandra of Business Standard; Kavita Faiella of The Aman, New Delhi; Nitesh Gandhi of Oberoi and Trident Hotels; Sonal Holland, and independent wine educator; Abhay Kewadkar of UB Group; Sanjay Menon of Sonary's; Alejandro Ortiz of Aman Resorts; Mukund Padmanabhan of The Hindu; Vir Sanghvi of Hindustan Times; Harshal Shah, independent wine consultant and with Sommelier India; Aman Sharma of Taj Hotels; Ajoy Shaw of Sula Vineyards; Magandeep Singh of IWBS; and Craig W. Wedge of FineWinesnMore.

Singh added that considering Sommelier India was a five-year-old magazine that supported the wine traders, it was a natural step to design such a competition. "Wine is suddenly of great interest to Indians and hence through SIWC we hope to cater to the discerning needs of the traders and wine connoisseurs," she said.

Other than SIWC, Sommelier India frequently conducts wine tasting session with visiting international experts. Sponsors of the SIWC include Autohanger, which is the dealer for Mercedes Benz in India, Cadbury Bourneville, Grape to Glass (Riedel), Kingfisher Airlines and Vacu Vin.