Mud House and Kumala Wines Debut in India

It is not enough to be a country’s largest wine producer. You’ve got to keep expanding the ambit to

ensure a continuing customer outreach. Sula Selections, the import division of Sula wines of India seems to be following this approach by augmenting its portfolio aggressively of late. The latest in their slew of wines are two ranges- Mud House and Kumala wines from New Zealand and South Africa respectively. After eventful months with Hardys wines of Australia culminating in the launch of William Hardy and Art of Cricket collections, Sula’s  action arena has shifted to other New World regions apparently in a quest to evolve a well rounded portfolio. And with this it’s association with Accolade Wines- one of worlds largest wine enterprises delivering wine to 143 countries worldwide- goes a notch higher.

The 'Sula Selection' for the  Lavaash dinner
Pic: Prashant Sharma via Sula Selections

The launch of Mud House and Kumala wines was done at a dinner hosted in Lavaash- a new restaurant serving Armenian cuisine in Delhi.  Prarrthona Pal Chowdhury- Sula's enterprising Marketing Head for Brandy Project and International Brands  invited me over for the tasting. The wines came across as refreshing and full of novelty. Here is a lowdown on the portfolio:

Pic: Mudhouse wines

Mud House Wines

About 

This production house has presence in three of the renowned  wine areas of  New Zealand viz. Marlborough, Waipara valley  and Central Otago. It gets its name from the house which was built by its founders from the mud excavated from the local area.

Wines tasted (Prices indicated ex Delhi/ Mumbai):


Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (₹ 2300/ ₹ 2575)

True to its provenance (of a maritime climate) the wine had expressive ripe peaches aromas going on to guavas after some time. It may be called a ‘typical Marlborough’ wine but my personal choice steers away from particularly domineering aromas. On the palate, the wine was pretty decent and refreshing with tropical fruit flavours. This wine will please those who like intensely aromatic Sauvignon Blancs as opposed to their subtler cousins.

Pic: Prashant Sharma via Sula Selections

Mud House Pinot Noir 2013 (₹ 2530/ ₹ 2830)

The light ruby colour of this wine indicated at the outset that it would be more fruity and less tannic. The wine expectedly came out juicy on the palate with abundance of red berries and soft tannins- though I felt it could have done well with a firmer structure. Notwithstanding, the wine was an excellent match for the paired food that had vegetal-fruity orientation and ample texture.

Kumala Wines

About 

The winery takes great pride in being located in the surrounding areas of the iconic Table Mountain that has  rich bio diversity. Perhaps their  'Gecko' motif conveys the same essence. They also source their grapes from growers spread over five prominent  South African viticultural regions viz Western Cape, Olifants River, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.

Richly bio-diverse Kumala vineyards surrouinding the Table Mountain in South Africa  (Pic: Kumala wines)

Wines tasted: (All variants ₹ 1250/ ₹ 1355)

Kumala Chardonnay

A crisp Chardonnay with aromas/flavours of apples, citrus fruits and pears. Well suited for the Indian summer conditions.

Pic: Prashant Sharma via Sula Selections

Kumala Sauvignon Blanc 

A subdued variation of the Mud House Sauvignon Blanc tasted as above, this was a well balanced wine having pleasant citrus, vegetal and spicy aromatics that were accompanied by a delicious palate.

Kumala Pinotage

No SA wine talk is complete without the mention of  Pinotage- the country’s derived varietal from Pinot Noir and Hermitage (also called Cinsault) varietals. This wine had complex aromas of red fruits and fruitcake. A well rounded medium bodied delicious palate and a medium finish made it a pleasant wine to relish even without food.

Kumala Shiraz

 A deep ruby wine with aromas of  ripe black fruits and black pepper.  Full bodied with round tannins and a distinct oak touch made it a good accompaniment with the robust and savoury main course dish called Chicken Kalagyosh- a chickpea and chicken stew with parsley paprika and olive oil.

To sum up the entire tasting experience, both the wine ranges have something unique to offer- coming from two distinct terroirs of the New World.The benefit-cost ratio however, works to the advantage of Kumala wines, significantly so, because Mud House may find ample number of worthy competitors for their pricing on the Indian retail shelves- including biggies from the Old World.

But then- it all depends upon catching the customer’s fancy!

With Prarrthona Pal Chowdhury (extreme left) and Ann-Marie Battista of Accolade wines (extreme right)
Pic: Prashant Sharma via Sula Selections

'Pigeon's' wine flight

Odds are high that a cricket lover in India will not be aware of a wine brand, but flip this and any Indian wine lover will surely know who Glenn McGrath is. The Aussie cricketer has a universal charm and is idolized by zillions of fans in  cricketing nations . But what does an iconic cricketer have to do with a wine brand? Same as Sachin Tendulkar  with a Cola or  Virat Kohli with an Anti Dandruff Shampoo. Being celebrity consumers, they instil a certain confidence amongst  the general consumer about quality of the product that they endorse.

Hardys, the Aussie wine giant, have appointed McGrath as their Brand Ambassador and dedicated a special label to him called "Hardys Art of Cricket" . The label carries  'Pigeon's' (McGrath's popular nick name)  photo and signature,with an obvious intent of  catching the wine  fancy of the Indian cricketing  buff.

Hardys Art of Cricket Collection with McGrath's photo and signature

I had the privilege of being invited to a special event called "Hardys fine Australian wine and True Aussie Lamb"  hosted by the Australian High Commissioner in India, H.E. Patrick Suckling at his residence in New Delhi this May. The highlight of the evening was  McGrath's towering persona- staturewise as well as literally (at 6 ft 4 in tall).  The icon mixed freely with wine lovers patiently addressing all their cricket and wine queries. The wines for the evening though, were Hardys already  available "Stamp Collection"  as the "Art of Cricket" collection will hit the Indian market only by August this year as intimated by Sula Selections- Hardys' importers in India.

Glenn McGrath with Ann-Marie Battista presenting an autographed English willow to H.E. Patrick Suckling
Pic: Australian High Commission, New Delhi

Hardys is a well recognized wine brand synonymous with 'value for money' wines. It all started in  1857, when Thomas Hardy bottled his first vintage and became one of the first exporters of Australian wines. In India, their wines have been available since 2003. In Asia, Japan is the largest market for Hardys wines with India ranking an impressive eighth – very encouraging for a country with per capita consumption of just a few milliliters of wine.

Random glimpses of Hardys "Art of Cricket" launch function in New Delhi

The evening at New Delhi started with rounds of Hardy's Pinot Noir Chardonnay followed by other variants of the Stamp Collection. To accompany the wines, there was a delightful dégustation menu put together by Chef Justin Zammit of Epicure (Brisbane) where  Aussie lamb in different preparations was the highlight. Pairings were as under:

(prices of wines are indicated ex Delhi/ Mumbai):

Hardys Pinot Noir Chardonnay Sparkling (₹ 1320/1755) 

A balanced and fruity sparkling wine. 

Served with corn fed chicken liver terrine with raisin chutney and rosemary brioche.

Hardys Riesling-Gewurztraminer (₹ 960/1390)

An aromatic wine with abundance of tropical fruits and an off-dry inclination. 

Served with homemade duck prosciutto, honey black pepper glaze, rye bread crouton.

Hardys Chardonnay-Semillon (₹ 1060/1390) 

A light and refreshing wine with stone fruit flavours. 

Served with poached green asparagus, extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried heirloom tomatoes and herbal buffalo mozzarella (served warm in petit jars).

Hardys Cabernet-Merlot (₹ 820/1390)

An expressive wine, showing red berries and oak aromas accompanied by a fruity palate.

Served with charred yoghurt marinated Australian lamb, salad of baby cos and pomegranate, toum and za atar flat bread; Spring Australian lamb confit, potato mousseline and jus; Roasted Australian lamb loin, butternut pumpkin,smoked eggplant and semolina fondant.

Hardys Shiraz-Cabernet (₹ 1080/1390)

A robust wine with aromas of blackberries, dark cherries and spice with a complementing palate and an oaky finish. 

Served with salt water Australian lamb, smoked carrot shavings and crisp ancient grains; Slow poached Australian lamb loin, coconut green curry.

Ann-Marie Battista, Hardys representative, told me that the brand is steeped in tradition and has won more than 9000 international wine awards. Hardys is largely recognised for being approachable, consistent, fun and dependable. Cricket mirrors these exact sentiments – technique, consistency, knowledge and years of hard work and perseverance. Hardys are honoured to introduce Glenn as their Brand Ambassador to India. "We believe our partnership with Glenn is perfect to raise Hardys brand awareness with wine consumers and become the Australian brand of choice in India", added Ann-Marie.

"Both cricket and wine are pursuits of passion and it is my pleasure to bring these two together", McGrath said. He claims that he lives to eat and does not eat to live. This association with Hardys will give him more chances to visit India, a country that he thinks of as his second home. In lighter vein, he also said that as a Brand Ambassador, he finds more acceptability amongst Indians since he is no longer bowling to Sachin Tendulkar!

McGrath was candid enough in sharing that he is not a wine expert but someone who is interested in good wines. Before his new role as Hardys brand ambassador, he spent time at the Hardys facility in Adelaide, understanding the intricacies of winemaking in order to be conversant with the winemaking philosophy of the brand.

The 'pigeon' looks set to fly the long haul.

P.S. I did manage to get an autograph as well!

This article is an adaptation from my original piece in  vino india