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Boby Kurian

Bangalore , Feb. 19

BROWN-Forman is set to unveil its portfolio of Fetzer Wines in the Indian market even as domestic wine consumption is reportedly vaulting nearly 30 per cent year-on-year.

The US spirits giant has till now focused mainly on its iconic bourbon whisky Jack Daniel's and to some extent on Finlandia vodka.

Mr Amrit Kiran Singh, Area Director of Brown - Forman, said the company was gearing up to import Fetzer Wines by April. The Californian wine will play in the mid-priced to premium segment of the Indian wine market. It is learnt that Brown-Forman would look at dropping the price of a part of the Fetzer portfolio by as much as 40 per cent to blend in with a larger section of the Indian consumers, and subsequently revise the price upwards over a period of four to five years.

The entry of Fetzer also comes at a time when the New World wines, mostly Australian, Californian and Chilean, are increasingly making an impact in the domestic market where the traditional French wine had an almost dominating presence. The wine consumption in India is still highly skewed towards on-trade, with the industry observers pegging it as high as 95 per cent of the overall consumption.

Brown-Forman, which came out of a manufacturing joint venture with Jagatjit Industries, focuses only on BIO business in the domestic market involving core brands such as Jack Daniel's and Finlandia Vodka. The company has a direct presence in seven cities across the country even though its brands finds its way into more markets through high-end hotels and clubs.

It must be mentioned that Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are the top markets for its mainstay Jack Daniel's Whisky. Along with Fetzer Wines, the company also plans to put Finlandia Vodka more in the limelight from April onwards.

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