Waitrose lists Indian wine

Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to list wine from India.

Citing demand for “more exotic” wines, the retailer has introduced the Ritu Viognier 2010 and Zampa Syrah 2008 to its range.

Matt Smith, Waitrose wine buyer, remarked: “the quality of Indian wine has improved a great deal over the last five years with investment and expertise pouring into the industry.”

Waitrose has a reputation for giving shelf space to wines from less well-known regions.

Smith pointed out: “Over the past two years we have featured wines from Croatia, Montenegro, Lebanon, Kosovo, Slovenia, Georgia, Morocco and now India, which has contributed to growth of over 50% for the ‘Rest of the World’ wine section at Waitrose over the last two years.”

The name Ritu means “season” in Sanskrit and is produced by winemaker Abhay Kewadkar in the Maharashtra town of Baramati, a relatively cool region which lies close to the Western Ghats mountain range. Its winery, Four Seasons, has been modelled on a French château and forms part of Vijay Mallya’s UB Group.

The Zampa Syrah is made by South African winemaker Nic Van Arde in Nashik in the Sahyadri Valley, also in Maharashtra but with a dry, tropical climate near India’s western coast.

Both wines are featured as part of the Waitrose World of Wine Showcase, which runs until 11 October. Until this time the Ritu is discounted from £8.99 to £6.99, while the Zampa is down from its £10.99 RRP to £8.49.