'Drop beer, shift to healthier wine'

The Karnataka Wine Board (KWB), in an attempt to promote wine culture in the City and State, is targeting the youth and wants them to shift from beer to wine, citing that it is healthier.

Targeting youth

“We are targeting youth who consume a lot of hard liqour and beer. Wine is a lot healthier than other forms of alcohol. We are not trying to make any one an alcoholic,” said the KWB Managing Director B Krishna on Wednesday, speaking after Bakkappa Kote took over as the new chairman of the Board.

“Furthermore, in order to increase sales, we are setting up wine taverns and boutiques in all districts and work has already begun in Mangaluru, Hubballi, Mysuru and Belagavi,” he said.

Increasing sales
Wine sales have been gradually increasing by 20 per cent every year and after the recent wine festival, it has gone up by 10 per cent, he said.

Kote said that though they have received the governement permission and the Wine Board clearance, they have not yet started the sale of wine at Hopcoms outlets because of space constraints.

Hopcoms sells fruits and vegetable from 150 sq-ft outlets, but a wine boutique requires at least 200 sq ft of space. The new chairman said a meeting with the heads will soon be called to sort out this problem.