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Myra plans experience centre near Bengaluru

To spend Rs 30-cr on new winery and bottling facilities
Last Updated 12 November 2015, 17:08 IST

Young and aspirational vintner Myra Vineyards is aiming to expand its presence in the new-found wine savouring Indian market, having rolled out niche products, apart from plans to open new facilities.

The two-year-old company, conceptualised by Ajay Shetty as a Rs 7.6-crore self-funded venture in 2011, is now looking at spending around Rs 30 crore over the next few years towards expansion.

“We have acquired over 50 acres of land in Chikkaballapur (near Bengaluru), through a family holding. We propose to begin a vineyard there, apart from a winery with wine production and bottling facilities. The said Rs 30 crore may be raised, or funded via internal accruals, and would cover the property aggregation and development,” Shetty, who is the Managing Director of Myra Vineyards, told Deccan Herald.

The company is also planning to open an experience centre, which will have leisure day-trip and resort facilities, as part of its plans on the new tract of land, located in a prime region for grape cultivation.

Currently, it owns two facilities in Vijayapura and Nashik, each with a five lakh-litre production capacity. Grapes are sourced from nearby contract farmers.

New mix, new markets

Myra began rolling out its first vintages and bottles in 2013, branded as Myra Premium, which included Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc (white wine), and Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (red wine) wine types. These were sold across counters, restaurants, and through institutional retail.

In 2014, the company launched wines that were aged for a year in French oak barrels, under the brand Myra Reserve, priced at Rs 800 per bottle. “Meanwhile, we also launched the first single variety wine called the Two-Headed Bird, which was a new beginning in the realm of aspirational wine drinking, priced at a competitive Rs 330 per bottle,” Shetty said.

He said the company’s idea was to make wine accessible to people, besides growing the market in India. More recently, the company launched ‘Misfit’ — a new range of 18-month-old unfiltered wines, composed of Cabernet and Shiraz blends.

“When you store wine in a barrel, there is a process called ‘racking’ that takes place. The wine is shifted from one to barrel to another every three months, during which residue sets in, calling for a process of filtration. But 18 months on, we realised that the unfiltered wine tasted great,” he said.

The company has so far produced 300 cases (each case holds 12 bottles of 750 ml of wine) of Misfit, which are currently sold in Mumbai, and Goa. While hospitality giant Taj holds exclusive rights to sell Misfit in Mumbai, the Grand Hyatt sells the wine at its property in Goa. Myra is hinting at launching the wine in other markets as well.

The company’s current wine portfolio is priced between Rs 330 and Rs 1,500, which is sold in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Hong Kong, and the UK. “We now intend to foray into Puducherry, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh from the next year,” Shetty said.

Last year, the Indian market saw sales of around 2.1 million cases of wine in totality, displaying a growth of 21.25 per cent. Myra Vineyards expects to close a sale of 15,000 cases by March 2016, and hopes to sell 30,000 cases in the succeeding year.

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(Published 12 November 2015, 17:08 IST)

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