India Wine Awards were launched in 2017 by India’s first Master of Wine, the well-known Sonal Holland. This year, the black-tie award event was hosted at The Leela in Mumbai, which saw 116 wines and 17 restaurants being recognised for their award-worthy contributions in the Indian wine industry.
The grand jury consisted of some 17 renowned names from the wine and hotel industry, such as Sommelier Lalit Rane, Taljinder Singh and Zubin Songadwala from the Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai and ITC Hotels, and wine experts Subhash Arora and Ruma Singh. The judging panel blind tasted almost 320 wines to award Diamond, Gold and Silver medals to the 116 wines.
12 wines were awarded in the Best-In-Show category. Three of them being:
- J’NOON Red 2017
- G.H.Mumm NV , France
- Grover Zampa Chene Grand Reserve 2015
43 wines received awards in the Gold category. Five of them being:
- Fratelli MS White 2018, India
- Fratelli SETTE 2015, India
- Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection Red 2017, India
- Grover Zampa Art Collection Merlot 2019, India
- Grover Zampa Soirée Brut 2018, India
7 places were awarded the Best Wine Destinations award. Three of them being:
- Romano’s, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar
- Le Cirque Signature, The Leela Mumbai
- Caprese, Shangri-La Hotel Bengaluru
With the wine industry flourishing in India and new domestic players entering the market, it was time for the establishment of a credible wine competition in the country. The India Wine Awards has done just that by recognising and celebrating the efforts of wine entrepreneurs and wine destinations in the Indian industry, thus embarking on a journey that will only be beneficial for the future of Indian wine by encouraging higher wine standards in the market.
You can find the list of all India Wine Awards 2019 winners here.
