Top 100 white wines of India
Discover the top 100 best white wines of India as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the white 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: Grillo
A very ancient grape variety still grown today in western Sicily. Very often associated with catarratto and inzolia, it produces the famous Marsala liqueur wine. It is also increasingly being vinified as a single variety and produces excellent dry wines full of freshness and fruitiness. Grillo is believed to be the result of an intra-fertile cross between catarratto and Muscat of Alexandria or zibibbo, obtained in 1869 by Antonino Mendola. It is represented by two biotypes that can be easily recognized, but it seems that winegrowers attach little importance to them. Little known in other Italian regions - in Liguria it is known as "rossese bianco" - it can also be found in Australia and South Africa. It is not widely grown in France, although it is interesting because of its ability to withstand hot climates and drought, and to ripen quite late.
Food and wine pairing with a white wine of India
white wines from the region of India go well with generally quite well with dishes of shellfish, lean fish or fruity desserts such as recipes of penne with shrimp and zucchini, onigirazu or express cherry clafoutis.
