Sip,drink,purchase

“In 2007,the Maharashtra government copied the Karnataka government in issuing licences to sell just wine and beer; we took the opportunity to set up Living Liquidz stores and as a result our store in Hypercity is the number one wine seller in Mumbai,” beams Moksh Sani,Director of Living Liquidz.

Initially,simply having shops where one could walk around,read labels and touch the wine bottles was an innovation over traditional liquor shops which expect you to know what you want and order over the counter. “I took inspiration from duty-free shops as well as wine stores abroad,and felt that this simple change would encourage consumers or buyers to drink more wine,” reasons Sani. As a result,wine sales provide up to 20 per cent of Sani’s revenues. He hopes wine sales could in the future contribute as much as 50 per cent.

The newest innovation—a subtle one—is that wine shops are now offering consumers the opportunity to sample wines before they buy them. This signifies a larger move towards interacting with or educating the consumer,or at times both. “A lot of our customers want to buy wines but aren’t very familiar with them. We try as much as possible to enquire about their preferences before making a recommendation,” says Sarvesh Asthana,store manager at Santé,a chain which recently opened a shop in Colaba with a licence to serve wines . The shop has used this licence to allow consumers a chance to sample three wines from a list of over 10 Indian and imported wines,at a nominal price that is waived off if a bottle is purchased. “We change our list of wines offered every week to encourage people to come regularly and try new wines,” says Asthana. The Living Liquidz store at Tata Star Bazaar,Andheri,also offers the same concept in the adjoining café,although for this month it has tied up with just Zampa and one can sample only that.

Despite these efforts,it will take time for consumers to take wine more seriously. “A lot of times,our customers are too busy to sit and sample or they just want to gift a bottle and care primarily about price,” laments Asthana,a hotel management graduate who has worked in several hotels. Sani,however,remains positive: “People are getting aware of the health benefits of wine and educated about different wines.”

Apart from Santé and the new Living Liquidz store,Ivy,the café in Worli that is owned by Indage,has started a wine shop next door so that consumers can buy bottles after having some wine at the café. Godrej Nature’s Basket stocks premium wines,but more significantly categorises them by region and their employees are happy to provide recommendations.

It is simply a matter of time before wine stores are taken more seriously,and offer more to consumers than simply the best price.

TRY IT OUT
Sante,Wodehouse Road,Colaba,
Call 64509779
Living Liquidz,Tata Star Bazaar,Andheri West,Call 26715842