Indians are drinking wine since Bronze age

In the 5,000 BCE, the history of grape growing and wine (an alcoholic beverage) making, dates back to the Bronze Age, when Persian traders are believed to have given birth to the practice of grape cultivation in the Indus Valley. The British and Portuguese encouraged winemaking heavily and thus, the wine was produced in regions of Goa and Baramati, Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Surat.

Another high wave in the Indian wine industry began in the 1980s and 90s when middle-class people started enjoying the luxury goods and wine on which high taxes and duties were imposed. The majority of wine consumed is domestic, as the tax on wine brought into India is 150 percent.

The contemporary history of starting the Indian wine dates back to a few decades ago in the late 1970s and early 1980s. in 1982 During this period, the first genuine winery from VitisVinifera grapes was opened by Sham Chougule of Indage. Therefore, when he launched the Marquise de Pompadour sparkling wine in 1986, everyone called it “Champagne. Inspired by Indage, Kanwal Grover introduced Grover Zampa Vineyards producing wine in both Nashik, Maharashtra, and Nandi Hills Karnataka. Indage and Grover took inspiration from France and after years of experimenting with the French consultants, they were able to open the first Indian wineries launched in 1986 and 1996 respectively.
Then came the Sula vineyards and the number is not ending, even the wineries began to come online with improved quality of the wine. In less than a few decades, Indian consumers have eventually developed a taste for wine

Over the last decade, the Indian wine industry has experienced stability in growth. 24 million bottles of wine are produced by seventy producers each year and India exports approximately 10 percent of the total production. Out of 123,000 acres of vineyards in India, only 1-2% area is used to produce wines. There are around 110 wineries in the country, including 72 in Maharashtra (therefore accounting for two -thirds of the national wine production).

Nashik is the heart of the wine-growing and making. It’s also known as India’s wine capital, is home to 29 wineries. Bangalore, especially the Nandi Hills is home to the largest swathes of vineyards and most of the top producers in the state of Karnataka. Grover too established his first vineyard in the valley of Nandi Hills.

Other than these vineyards, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Goa have a suitable climate to produce wines, like Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, Muscat of Alexandria and PORT wine.