Top 100 wines of India
Discover the top 100 best wines of India as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the wines that are popular of India and the best vintages to taste in this region.
Discovering the wine region of India
India is an emerging wine economy, both in terms of production and consumption, and has the potential to become a major player on the global wine scene. This is because the country has consistently experienced the highest growth in consumption in the world, at around 20-30% per annum between 2002 and 2010. To meet this demand, a significant amount of wine is imported every year, but India also has a set of well-established and evolving domestic wineries.
Historically, the introduction of grapes to the Indian subcontinent and the subsequent proliferation of viticulture came from Persia in 500 B.
C. There is no evidence that commercial viticulture existed before the 19th century, when British colonialists supported the establishment of a local source of supply. However, just as the embryonic wine industry was beginning to take shape, it suffered a devastating blow from the outbreak of Phylloxera. Religious and cultural vetoes on Alcohol consumption also proved to be a difficult challenge to the growth of Indian wine after independence from Britain.
This continues to be the case in many parts of the country, where prohibition is enforced through local laws.
Despite these obstacles, the Indian wine industry expanded on a large scale in the late 1980s and early 1990s, due to globalization and liberal economic measures, as well as notable initiatives in modern viticulture by producers such as Chateau Indage - India's first commercial winery. The current boom in wine consumption is largely due to the growth of an affluent 'middle class'.
Due to its geographical location, India is not an easy place for large-scale viticulture.
Discover the grape variety: Cabernet franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet-Sauvignon which means that it is also well planted further north, as far as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
Food and wine pairing with a wine of India
wines from the region of India go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or goat cheese such as recipes of fondue vigneronne au vin rouge, couscous without couscous maker or breaded salmon with goat cheese sauce.
