The wine that captivated Americans during the 1970s and ‘80s is making its first foray into the sub-continent. Lambrusco, a slightly fizzy red wine designed to be drunk chilled, will be imported into Mumbai this week from Italy’s biggest wine group, Cantine Riunite & CIV, using Aspri Spirits as distributor.
Another eight markets including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh, will be targeted over the next two months.
Lambrusco took the US by storm in the 1970s when its sweet, berry-flavoured and low-alcohol qualities (8%) appealed to young Americans making their first steps into wine drinking. Around 3 million cases were exported there each year. Gian Paulo Gavioli, export manager for Cantine Riunite & CIV, thinks similar things could happen here. “It is semi-sparkling and low alcohol and you drink it chilled, so it’s already a great combination for Mexican food and we think so too it will be great for Indian consumers.”
Two wines will be made available, one for retail and another, higher end wine for hospitality. The retail version (Riunite classic Lambrusco Emilia IGT) will sell at Rs1,199 and the hospitality version (Albinea Canali Lambrusco Grasparosso DOC) will be available at Rs1,570. Hotels though will be offered the wine at 60% of the consumer price.
Discussions are already under way with Hyatt and Taj, and other 5-star chains with which Aspri Spirits already has a working relationship. Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO at Aspri Spirits, said: “We’re not going for volume in the first year. It’s very rare to see a red wine that is sparkling, so this is a set-breaker for India. We’re making it available to sommeliers in hotels with tastings and press coverage, and we’re sure that once people taste it they will become fans.”
The wine will appeal mainly to 25-40 year old women, Gavioli added, who want a low-alcohol alternative to beers and spirits at bars and nightclubs. Gavioli is also keen to develop associations with restaurants such as pizzerias, where promotions could include matching a particular pizza with a glass or bottle of Lambrusco.
