After going into a state of oblivion for almost nine months due to quality problems, the drastic steps it undertook to modernise its winery and address the issues methodically, has brought Grover Vineyards back on tracks with vigour, reports Subhash Arora.
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Kapil Grover at one of the vineyards |
I have never seen Kapil Grover, senior partner of the Grover Vineyards so cheerful and relaxed as this week when I spent practically the whole day visiting all nooks and corners of his winery and vineyards in Bangalore and tasting re-constructed wines from the 08 vintage and also the 09 vintage which is shaping up nicely in the tanks and barriques amidst the ongoing harvest.
‘Of course, we had faced an unusual and unprecedented problem in the winery last year though the ’08 harvest had no issues as such,’ admitted the thorough gentleman of the industry openly. We even recalled wine from wherever we could. Quality is the topmost feature of our wines and we wanted to ensure that the mistake was corrected, whatever the costs.’
Cost it did. And heavily too! Around Rs. 10 crores (Rs. 100 million) were spent on the painful surgery which required revamping the winery, creating new barrel room, making sure the hygiene was at its best till the bottling stage, storage of final products; even the grapes were stored in a pre-cooled area during the transition after receiving from vineyards and awaiting crushing. New offices and other cosmetic treatments were a part of the expensive exercise that included re-processing the wine as well. ‘No Visitors’ sign was applicable strictly during the ‘Surgery’.
The quality problem reportedly arose due to unexpected and unacceptable sedimentation appearing in the bottle after bottling. This was termed as a calcium sedimentation problem which had been identified and eliminated with corrective measures in Europe around 50 years ago, according to Dr. Ariff Jamal, CEO of the winery. ‘It can arise due to Meta tetric acid used in processing when it is not used in the natural but chemical form. In Grover’s case the country of origin was the prime suspect in causing the problem,’ reflected Dr. Jamal.
Ariff who hails from Burgundy has had a lot of professional experience with organic chemistry and its implication in winemaking. He spent a considerable amount of time studying and identifying the problem and then treating every bottle of wine through a process he is reluctant to discuss-until all the 2008 vintage was brought under control and to an acceptable drinking quality level. He also insisted the company invest a few crores in modernising the winery so as never to have to face such problems again.
He is equally pleased with the results. ‘Otherwise, how could I have faced my boss Kapil Grover whom I forced to spend that kind of money?’ ‘At a recent tasting in Bangalore a group of producers from Languedoc-Roussillon tasted the wines and expressed their surprise and acceptance level of the complete range of treated wines, with a special awe and respect for the Rose Shiraz’ (which incidentally has salmon colour unlike the previous versions with more pink and rose in colour), he exclaimed.
Last month Leonardo Frescobaldi was in Bangalore. He is the president of the Tuscany based Frescobaldi wines, whose wines are imported by Brindco, a partner in the Grover winery. He was impressed and totally satisfied with the wine quality, says Kapil and that made him relax.
An Opportunity Loss
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| Checking it ouit with CEO, Dr. Ariff Jamal |
During this period, Karnataka changed its policy mid-way during the year- a malaise that has entered the system at state level. This gave Grover a clear benefit over the Maharashtra wineries as it imposed extra duties resulting in about Rs. 280 a bottle extra for them. There was a lot of criticism as Grover was perceived to be behind this policy; their wines would get the equivalent excise duty benefit.
However, little did the market realise that Grover could not supply a single bottle due to the quality problem they were going through at that point. The minor beneficiary turned out to be little known Humpy Heritage winery in Bijapur which with its one-for-one offer invented earlier by Riviera table wines from Indage was able to sell its Kinva wines for around Rs. 210 a bottle and stake claim as the largest seller of Indian wines in December.
Lambi Race ka Ghodha
That does not upset Kapil, of course. ‘We are here for long term and the results for one month don’t mean anything. We are back on track in quality and that’s what it counts.’
How does he feel about being overtaken by Sula and possibly by the new kid on the block UB in a couple of years? ‘We are not in the race for the number one spot. I still stick to my 25/25 theory-that we can grow 25% year on year for 25 years. Perhaps we will grow by 20% during the coming year. We are targeting a sale of 120,000 cases including the export,’ says Kapil.
Quality the top priority
Grover had also suspended all their exports during the period of sickness, including to London ‘where we export 4000 cases a year,’ said Anita d’Souza, the Export Manager, adding ‘now that the wines have passed all our tests we shall be sending two container loads of wine to UK within the next few days.’
Stressing his passion for quality, Kapil added that ‘our objective is to become number one in both the red wine and white wines. It has been the general belief that Grover’s La Reserve is no. 1 in red wine and Sula wears the crown for the white Sauvignon Blanc (an opinion endorsed even by delWine till a couple of years ago before a few newer serious producers threw their hat in the ring too). I want to be the quality leaders for both red and whites.’
Although he forgot to mention, his Rose has always been a connoisseur’s delight, perhaps because of the characteristics of the varietal- Shiraz. The new Salmon colour infused in the ‘08 Rose, courtesy Dr. Ariff Jamal’s processing brings it closer to Provence and Anjou Rose, with the slightly tannic flavour and body making it palatable with a range of Indian foods.
More vineyards to add
So where are they going to get grapes for the expansion? Grover has made long term arrangements in Bangalore for 300 acres. Another 100 acres come from Bijapur vineyards and same surface area is planted in Sangli from where the grapes are transported by refrigerated trucks, according to Kapil.
‘Till the recent Karnataka policy, we were not allowed to own any vineyards- like in Maharashtra. But based on their permission to allow, I believe, 50 acres, the state government has allowed 109 acres to be owned for experimental purpose. But we are not rushing in to buy this land. We have already taken 26% equity in land across Karnataka- Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh (already reported earlier by delWine).’
‘Aman (Dhall with 20% shares in Grover’s) and Jerry (Rao, another partner with 15% share) are planning to procure 300-400 acres of land. If they succeed, we will tie up with them for our requirement. In any case, we keep on getting many farmers who want to join hands with us on a long term contracts.’
Grapes are too costly?
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| The new and modern barrel room |
One reason for the farmers rushing to them could be the higher-than-market price offered by Grover. I was surprised to learn that the winery buys grapes for Rs. 45 a kilo when the Maharashtra farmers’ grapes have been going a-begging - especially the present vintage when Rs. 30 a kg. was perhaps considered a good price even for red fruit’ the price has been reported to have gone down to even Rs. 16 a kilo.
‘We don’t mind paying the extra price because our standard on yield and quality are very stringent. We do not allow more than 3.5 tonnes for red and 4.0 tonnes for white grapes. Our contracts clearly specify that we can reject the whole lot on quality ground,’ says Kapil. In fact, recently when Ariff went to inspect a vineyard for the harvest, he found a gross violation on the yield which made him reject the entire crop. We were surprised when we found out next day that one of competitors had picked up the entire crop rejected by him,’ says an amused Kapil.
The problem with the farmers claiming to know everything about grapes remains a headache. Talking in a lighter vein, Kapil shared with me an anecdote. ‘One of the farmers who had been instructed that the maximum yield must not be more than 4 tonnes but we found he had about 8 tonnes/ acre. What is the problem-he said? You take 4 tonnes-I will sell the other 4 tonnes to somebody else.’
Wines of Grover
If Grover was popular for its Red-La Reserve, a blend of about 70% Cabernet and 30% Shiraz, it used to be equally known for its insipid Blanc de Blanc which used Clairette, a high yielding filler varietal from South of France, with no personality. A few years ago, he switched to Viognier production-with 60% Viognier and the rest Clairette as a filler, the wine has been getting better and better and the 2009 version would top the earlier versions. ‘The Clairette content has been decreased to 20-25% and will be continually reduced as no new plantations are being made of this varietal. It has very concentrated and fruity flavours with a touch of spice.’
Sauvignon Blanc has been getting creamier and the tropical flavours abound due to the juice being kept on the lees for a few months. Shades of light golden colour rather than the green seen in Nashik Sauvignons, gives it the appearance of a medium body wine, though the alcohol level is a respectable and reasonable 13%.
The two variants of Cabernet Shiraz continue with 70-30 blend, the special grapes going for the La Reserve and kept in the 0-2 year old French barriques for 6 months make them age-worthy and complex. A connoisseur should definitely try to store these wines for 2-4 years before getting the best from this wine. In fact, Grover may do well to take the opportunity given by the recent challenges to keep some quantities of 2008 and release them later using the marketing expertise of Brindco for the knowledgeable wine drinkers. With proper corks, the La Reserve may peak in 3-5 years, a fact not exploited by them so far. The regular blended red ‘08 was quite fruity in the tank-but it is too early to tell how it would shape up.
Sante white- Chenin was slightly sweet, not acidic enough but perfect for ladies or novices. But it was shown in poor light, when tasted in the company of the other two premier whites, fully justifying its almost half price. The Sante red was not quite palatable-perhaps a change in the blend might be of help. But at around Rs. 225 a bottle, one cannot expect miracles- the wine was clean enough and fruity though wasn’t pleasant on my palate, at least.
Art Series Label Release
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| Barrel sample from '09 vintage |
With practically every second producer becoming a promoter of art by having the labels designed by artists, Grover has not come up with the idea too soon- 63 years after Mouton Rothschild was the first to have thought about it and implemented. All the same, the labels are attractive-the one by Mario Miranda, in particular holds your attention.
There will be an official release of the Art Series labels (don’t worry- it is only old bottles with new labels and there will be no increase in price, I am assured-not that one can indulge in the luxury this year or the next, at least. Michel Rolland would be present too at the releasing ceremony to be held on 29th April at the French Embassy where one can get a glimpse of the labels, but more importantly taste the new avatars of Grover wines and perhaps chat with Michel Rolland who enjoys an international celebrity status, not less than a movie star, in the wonderful world of wines.
Subhash Aror
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