06 August,2009 08:27 AM IST | | B V Shiva Shankar
Not a single wine boutique has opened in Bangalore, despite the government changing its rules and going all out to promote that drink. Is it because we are a lager city?
Bangaloreans prefer beer to wine, Karnataka Wine Board officials are finding to their disappointment.
They launched a campaign last month to promote wine, but just eight retailers have sought licences so far.
The excise department is surprised it is not flooded with licence requests.
The government amended excise rules to allow the setting up of boutiques to sell wine, but the trade is wary.
Tavern idea
Shopping malls, supermarkets and multiplexes are now allowed to run wine boutiques, but they are cold to the idea.
Not even 10 wine boutique licences have been issued so far.
G N Nayak, deputy commissioner, Bangalore (Urban), said, "Nobody has set up shop yet, but I think it will pick up slowly."
Lager love
Mallikarjuna Gaddi, deputy commissioner, excise, attributed the cold response to Bangalore's preference for beer.
"We are not ready yet for wine culture. People think beer gives them a high that wine can't," he explained.
But Dr B Krishna, managing director of Karnataka Wine Board, is optimistic wine will become as popular as beer.
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"When the government started encouraging beer in the 1980s, it had to offer one bottle free with every bottle sold," he said.
Bangalore then got hooked to beer, and even came to be called India's pub city.
Wine is picking up, but not as fast as he would have liked. "In 2006-07 we sold 13 lakh litres of wine, and in 2007-08, we touched 15 lakh," he said.
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"Wine has 10 to 15 per cent of naturally derived alcohol unlike other liquors which have spirit," he said. "We are not asking non-drinkers to drink, but drinkers switch to wine."
Shoppers stop!
Traders and mall-owners are not really enthused by the idea. "We are not considering selling wine because people don't like to see liquor in their shopping cart," said M R Nandeesh, manager, Garuda Mall.
Super markets like Food World and Reliance Fresh say selling liquor is not profitable.
Wine prices range from Rs 30 for a quarter to Rs 4,000 for a full bottle, and the margins are thin.
They didn't want to risk losing the goodwill of consumers, a manager said. Only two of Food World's 41 outlets sell liquor.
"People like to sit and drink in an enclosed ambience," said Nandeesh. "Taverns won't get as many consumers as a pub does."
Vanagiri Gowda, president, Wine Merchants' Association, said the wine promotion idea is impractical.
"When all drinks are available in liquor shops, who would go to a general store just to buy only wine," he wanted to know.
Prasad says
As far as I am concerned, I prefer beer in the day and wine for the night. I think there will be a good response to the liberalisation of wine sales as was quite evident in the recent wine mela.
Sawan Dubey, PR Professional says
People need to be educatated about wine. At the moment they do not appreciate it as a good drink. We still do not have the culture of using wine at celebrations unlike beer. I think some more publicity and education about wine would help it out.
