Associates Wines
THE FACTS
THE STORY
Associates Wines is another thread in the colourful tapestry of the Indian wine industry. It is interesting for its story rather than the dubious quality of its sub-entry-level wines.
Founder D D Tupe claims the name, Baramati, has a history that dates to 1939 when the British took soil samples from twelve different sites to establish if grapes could be grown in the area, known then as Bhimthadi. The new name was coined from bara and mati, which translate into ‘twelve’ and ‘soil’ respectively. It is fair to say Baramati has become a significant grape-growing area since.
Having graduated in 1975, Tupe started work with the Baramati Grape Processing Industries, a state corporation, which subsequently was associated with Bosca Wines from Italy and purchased by the UB (United Breweries) Group in 1986. This experience gave him exposure to modern winemaking techniques and marketing as well as business trips abroad.
In 2005, as the UB operation closed down, Associates Wines was born. Though the family owns a hundred acres, the Tupes buy in all the grapes, and grow cash crops, such as sugarcane or grains, instead. The capacity of the winery is 500,000 litres but it is uncertain how much wine is made. A fair amount of Bangalore Blue is definitely crushed, in addition to Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The premium varieties have been used for export labels, but no consignment has been shipped since 2012.
The export labels I tasted were all oxidised, dried out and old, completely unpalatable. The range developed for the German market was named ‘Jogi’ and the label destined for the US market was ‘Karma’, obvious Indian points of reference. The Riesling sold in Dubai was named ‘Vinee Riesling de Blanc’, but I would not want to be relied on for the spelling nor be asked how many Emirati consumers drank single varietal Schwarzriesling, aka Pinot Meunier.
As I was reviewing the wines, the unexpected surfaced: sherry, then port and vermouth. They were all horribly oxidized, made from Thompson Seedless or Bangalore Purple with the addition of sugar – terribly wrong, but the stuff sells to the rural Indian consumer with a sweet tooth and a desire to get drunk.
Against my better judgement I asked the questions: Why were they producing substandard wines? Why did they use protected regional names that suggested a completely different production method? Why did they not maintain hygiene to an adequate level? In short, why bother at all when there is obviously so little interest in even the most basic quality of the product? The answers focused on a single point: the licence for a distillery is tied to operating a winery. Yes, Tupe’s main business is a distillery a few kilometres down the road.