Why do most Indian winemakers choose the same varieties of grapes to make their products?
The pattern is hard to miss. The portfolios of nearly every Indian winemaker feature the grape varieties cabernet sauvignon and Shiraz (both reds), and sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc (both whites). Geography, climate and economics have much to do with this limited choice. Old World countries have developed a relationship between terroir (the area, its climate and soil) and variety of grape grown there. But the Indian wine industry, like most New World producers, has developed by analysis and experimentation. The geographic and climatic similarities between Indian wine-growing regions and that of Australia and America also drove producers to choose these grapes.
