Wine Industry Report

MUMBAI: Champagne Indage Ltd, India’s largest wine producer and exporter, said on Wednesday (8th February) that it has entered into deal to acquire UK-based wholesale wine distributor McKinley Vintners.

As per the agreement, Harvey Miller Wine Agencies, a UK-based wine importer, would run McKinley Vintners for three years. After this, the two British firms would be merged. Champagne Indage would hold a majority stake in the merged entity.

McKinley Vinters has a distribution network in London and has strong relations with hotels, restaurants and wine shops.

According to Champagne Indage’s managing director Ranjit Chougule, the deal gives the company access to a full distribution chain — from import to retail distribution.

However, Chateau Indage would not use the McKinley Vinters network to retail the scotch whiskey brand ‘Kingdom of Fife’ it acquired recently. “McKinley Vinters is a wine distribution company and it is not synergistic with our Scotch business. It will distribute only wines,” Chougule said.

Kingdom of Fife sells about 200,000 cases in England, but is almost unknown outside the UK. Besides launching it in India as a BIS - Bottled in Scotland - brand, the company plans to take the brand to other markets.

Last year Chateau Indage exported 20,000 cases of wine. This year it is expected to export at least 50,000 cases, helped by the Mckinley Vinters acquisition.

^{[Courtesy: Daily News & Analysis (DNA) www.dnaindia.com
Story by Rabin Ghosh ]}