Grover Zampa Vineyards, the oldest winemaker in the country and among the top three domestic producers, is bullish about the demand for Indian wines overseas.

The company’s share of exports to its production fell to 12 per cent from 20 per cent before the pandemic, which led to skyrocketing shipping rates.

The situation is expected to normalise in FY24 and grow further as the company expands its presence. Grover Zampa owns wineries and vineyards at Nandi Hills of Karnataka and Nashik Valley, Maharashtra.

Ravi Vishwanathan, CEO of private equity fund Visvires Capital Asia Pte Ltd, said exports are being driven by the rise of Indian restaurants globally and the popularity of Indian cuisines.

“The Indian fine dining scene is rapidly changing worldwide and this is helping our business to grow,” said Vishwanathan. His relationship with Grover Zampa Vineyards started in 2012 as an investor during the brand’s merger with Nashik-based Vallee de Vin and through subsequent investments, he became the chairman of the brand in late 2018.

He was in the city to launch various brands under the company’s portfolio.

LA Reserve, Chene Grand Reserve, Signet and Vijay Amritraj are some of the brands with the company. It has also bought Four Seasons and Charosa giving it access to captive production units and vineyards.

Grover Zampa exports to more than 20 countries and its biggest market is in France, followed by Japan, the US, the UK, and Germany.

“This year we have started getting orders again and Japan has also reopened. We expect to go back to the normal levels on export and we are also adding more countries in Europe and US,” said Vishwanathan.

He said harvesting is going on now and the winemaker is expecting to reach its capacity of around 4 million litres. “It is only one harvest per year. So, we are filling up the tanks now.”

Sumit Jaiswal, vice-president, of marketing and Exim, Grover Zampa Vineyards, said the company has made a significant investment in developing experience centres and restaurants at its wineries and is looking to expand the reach of the brand in different cities.

“Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi are among the major premium wine-consuming locations in India. We are now looking at increasing our presence in cities such as Calcutta, Hyderabad, Pune Chennai,” he said.

The Indian wine market was estimated at Rs 1,550 crore in FY21 with exports constituting Rs 450 crore. A Technopak analysis has estimated the market to reach Rs 3,200 crore by FY25 with exports increasing to Rs 700 crore.