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Champagne Indage to launch sparkling wine brands
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Monday, 16 May, 2005, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The country's biggest wine manufacturer, Champagne Indage Ltd, has set an ambitious plan to unveil a dozen sparkling new wine brands during the next six months.
Currently, Champagne Indage owns 32 brands, out of which 26 are developed in India and the remaining six are imported. "We will be launching 12 additional brands during the next six months," says the company's wine maker Frederic Schermessar who has been hired by Champagne Indage recently for development of its brands.
Champagne Indage is also planning to bring its wine to the reach of the common man.. "We are developing one wine, which will be priced as low as Rs 98 a bottle. Our intention is to break off the traditional idea, that consumption of wine is restricted only among the people with deep pockets," Schermessar said.
The company is planning to give special thrust on exports during the years to come. "Currently, we are exporting our products to 63 countries and in the coming years we will be exporting our products to 32 new countries. Our new export destinations will be mainly Asian countries," Schermessar said. Currently the major countries where the company is exporting its products include USA, Japan, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Singapore and West Asia. The major brands of the company include MarQuise De Pompadour in the sparkling wine segment and Riveria in the white and red wine segment.
Champagne Indage regional manager Shubhamoy Mukherjee says that currently the company is producing 2.5 million bottles annually, as against the total Indian wine production of 3 million bottles per annum. "This makes us India's biggest manufacturer, with 75% market share in the premium red and white wine categories. We enjoy a virtual monopoly in the sparkling wine segment," Mukherjee said.
He also said that Champagne Indage had the largest oak maturation facility of 3,50,000 litres, the largest in Asia.
Schermessar said that Champagne Indage's wines had won a number of international awards. "Our sparkling wine Omar Khyyam, which is sold as Marquise De Pompadour in India, is the premium export product of the company and this brand has a number of international awards to its credit," he said.
He said that the company had international joint ventures with at least five countries. In India, the company has a winery at Pune and is currently at the final stage of setting up two more units at Shimla and Kulu in Himachal Pradesh. It is also is in talks with some other state governments in south India for setting up units there.
Champagne Vineyards Ltd, formally Champagne India Ltd, was set up in 1982 as an 100% export oriented unit in technical collaboration with Champagne Technologies of France for manufacture of wines. The present company, Champagne Indage Ltd, formally Indage (India) Pvt Ltd, was incorporated in 1985 and was converted into a public limited company in the year 1987.
In January 1997, as a part of the restructuring of the Indage Group, the hotels and engineering division of Champagne Indage was de-merged and currently they work as separate entities.
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