If one believes in the prophesy of Adam Strum about the future of Indian wine it will strike a sweet sounding chord in the ears of the producers. As the publisher of Wine Enthusiast, the second highest circulated wine magazine in the world and owner of the largest wine media empire, with annual sales ringing up more than 80 million greenbacks and with the business experience of over 26 years, Adam can nose a winner when he sees one. And Indian wines are set to ride high in his crystal ball.

Adam is on a personal visit to India for the first time with his two wine-loving daughters Erica, Jacky and his Eve Sybil with whom he co-founded the business of online marketing wine accessories, from wine cellars to corkscrews, in 1979. He sensed a great demand for wine education.‘ The USA then was where you are today in India in terms of non-wine drinking and lack of wine knowledge', says he and started the magazine Wine Enthusiast in 1988, which at a monthly circulation of 120,000 copies is higher than the combined circulation of the British magazine, Decanter and Robert parker's Wine Advocate

The unassuming, down to earth, witty and rich Adam was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth (read- the owner of a Chateau or a Gallo or a Mondavi). His father worked for Gallo- what was to help him in later years, both as landing a job with their New York distributor, after doing his MBA from Florida and when he founded the business. Sybil's experience as a TV producer came in handy too, especially in the initial years.

‘We are one company which has perhaps made the biggest difference in influencing the wine drinking habits of the Americans', he told me at breakfast at Oberoi Hotel where he was staying with his family. He should know. With an annual mailing of 15-20 million of his online marketing catalogues to his existing database of 2 million people and with a total posting of over 300 million since he started his business, even the subliminal effect can be significant.

He is very pleased with the first encounter with Indian wines. ‘The one thing that struck me in general was that the varietals are true to their taste. Sauvignon Blanc from Grover and Sula were crisp, herbaceous, and fresh- very similar to New Zealand wines. Chenin was particularly impressive, it was fruit driven and like in Loire Valley. The sparkling Ivy from Indage was full of bubbles, crispy and light on the palate. I think it will go very well with the spicy Indian food,' he felt.

What amused and pleasantly surprised him was the Zinfandel from Vinsura. Americans generally, and Californians in particularly revere the grape, thinking of it as a native grape. Wondering how they got the clones from California he was impressed by it being so fruity and light in comparison with some Californian Zins which tend to be too powerful, big and tannic