Thrilled to be in India, says the James Bond of Wine Industry

JEAN-CHARLES Boisset proprietor at the Boisset Collection is known as the James Bond of the wine world and we suspect it's because of his flair. Boisset was in the Delhi to attend Fratelli Vineyards, Taste of the World event which took place at The Mansion, Hyatt Regency Delhi. This year Taste of the World saw a display of 29 wines from across 5 countries. Among the wines on display were Boisset's own products.

We got to speak with Boisset along with Kapil Sekhri Director at Fratelli Vineyards.

Boisset spoke to us before the event and began by saying, "We are thrilled to be here. Kapil (Sekhri) organised this amazing visit for us to be able to discover the market and understand not only New Delhi, but a few other cities as well. Tour his vineyards and really grasp, feel and touch the soul".

"From a French perspective specifically, the history of India is one of the most fascinating there is. It's a country we have always been attracted to," he added.

Being able to think that India is drinking wine is extremely thrilling according to Boisset. "We are getting in a combination of our French wines and our Californian wines".

The challenge is to consistently think of the local food and (take into consideration) habits of the local people, how they drink, what they drink, Boisset told us.

The choice of the brands was "a common decision and that's the beauty of it. We rely on Kapil for his understanding of the marketplace and the flavour profile and the texture of the wine that is needed. He is the expert," Boisset added.

"We believe that its our duty to bring value for money wines to the consumer and we don't want his experiences to be so daunting that its either too expensive that he can't afford it and he thinks its an expensive hobby," Sekhri told us.

"When we looked at our California assortment, we have a winery founded 40 years ago called DeLoach Vineyards in Sonoma which makes stellar Pinot Noir and Zinfandel both go phenomenally well with Indian food", Boisset added.

"We are getting a mix of California and French labels, from wineries with very individual histories. It goes perfectly with what Kapil has built because for us being just with someone who does not produce would not be as exciting," he added.

"We always think of ourselves as consumers and wine lovers. That's what gets us going. You are in a mood for different things at different times. We make good Indian wines, but there are certain things that are changing, like the regions and varietals of the wines, but what are not losing is the core, the value for money every brand which we represent and believe in. We have gone and studied each wine and whether we like the wines as a consumer. It's not an egostic play," Sekhri said.

Speaking on the volumes, Sekhri said that the aim was to reach two to three thousand cases, with the focus being on the HORECAs and trade, so that the value can be carried forward to the customer. There would be no retail selling for the first year, he added.