A study into wine consumption patterns of Indians with special reference to the Pune region

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2014 in the subject Tourism - Hotel Management, grade: A, , language: English, abstract: This research analyses the wine consumption patterns in Pune City (Pune Municipal Corporation limits) to determine the demographic of the wine consumers and their knowledge about wine. This research also seeks to understand the wine consumers' perceptions towards wine.The literature reviewed has shown the development of wine in India. The impact the wine industry has on the Indian economy has also been illustrated. Details of the major Indian wine manufacturers and the potential they have has been studied.Information on Indian grapes and wine has been collated. Articles and studies on the perceptions that wine consumers have showed that there are still some myths and misconceptions surrounding wine.The advantages and disadvantages faced by Indian wine manufacturers have been illustrated. Studies have shown the positive health benefits of moderate wine consumptionThe Indian market is a very young market. Indian wine manufacturers are still coming to terms with a small but growing consumer base. Numerous foreign studies have shown that the India has a good potential for wine marketing.Given the low levels of wine consumption, in comparison to Beer and Hard Liquor, this research identifies the wine consumers' perceptions and demographics. The research offers the wine manufacturers a target group on whom to focus their marketing strategies on. It also evaluates the perceptions of the wine consumer in respect to wine being an acceptable drink in a family environment and notions of wine perceived as a luxury drink. Wine marketers can use this as a basis of understanding the consumption patterns of wine consumers.India is the second largest populated country with a population of 1.2 billion people and a large middle class of over 250 million people. We could be consuming about 250 million liters of wine annually if each person drank just 1 liter per year. However, the annual consumption of wine averages about 7 million liters of Indian and about 1.5 million liters of Imported wines. This translates to less than 1 million cases of wine. This is in stark contrast to about 120 million Cases of hard liquor like Whiskey, rum and vodka being consumed every year and over 105 million cases of Beer.