The night before Sydney’s Indian Wine Buyer-Seller Meet, Ashwin Rodrigues was not rehearsing a keynote. He was in his hotel room, glued to a phone and laptop, fielding calls, rechecking guest lists, and making sure wine shipments had crossed borders and reached the venue. Some had, but not all.
Rodrigues, founder of Good Drop Wine Cellars and Secretary of the Wine Growers Association of India (WineGAI), had taken on the challenge of hosting the showcase with just two weeks’ notice. There was no external event manager or offshore team. The task of putting together the entire event, from designing banners and brochures to booking the venue and coordinating with multiple wineries across India, fell entirely on the team at Good Drop.
“We did everything in-house. Table mats, invites, guest list, follow-ups. Even the backdrop behind the speaker. It was all created and printed by our team in Mumbai,” he said.
The event, held on 28 July in Sydney, brought together over 40 Australian importers, sommeliers, and wine professionals. It was part of a broader effort to position Indian wines on international shelves. Under the India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), tariffs on wine have started to ease, allowing Indian and Australian producers to explore a more open trade corridor. The Joint Dialogue on Wine, formed under ECTA, has also paved the way for cooperation on regulatory and technical matters.
Rodrigues had reason to believe this showcase could mark a shift. Wines from eight Indian producers were curated for the event. The Indian Consulate in Sydney lent its endorsement. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) came on board as a partial sponsor. A full selection of wines, including labels from Sula, Grover, and Sam Agri, was shipped. A printed masterclass had been prepared.
But then the consignment got stuck. First in Hong Kong. Then, after finally arriving in Sydney, it never made it to the venue. The delivery was addressed to the restaurant manager’s son, who was briefed the day before. On the morning of the event, he vanished. Neither staff nor his father, the venue owner, could locate him. He reappeared just before the event started, too late to retrieve the shipment.
“My team in Mumbai didn’t sleep that night,” Rodrigues said. “They were in the office until morning, coordinating, chasing customs, trying everything they could. But the wine never made it.”
He described setting up the venue himself, arranging glasses, placing banners, laying out the table. “We had a masterclass planned with a complete range of Indian wines. I stood there speaking to the crowd, presenting India’s best, but half the wines were missing. Their names were still printed on the brochures. It was hard.”
What followed, however, surprised him.
“No one seemed to notice. The feedback was incredibly positive. People loved what they tasted. They were curious, engaged. Many showed real interest in importing or collaborating,” he said.
The wines that did arrive included selections from Talisva, Moonshine Meadery, and his own Frizzano range. Despite the setback, attendees praised the freshness and versatility of the wines, particularly their pairing potential with diverse cuisines. Rodrigues said he’s following up with several key guests, sending them the missing bottles personally.
The Indian Consul General addressed the gathering, voicing confidence that Indian wines could find their place in the Australian market, just as Australian wines had done in India. Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director at APEDA, also spoke, offering government support for future trade efforts.
But for Rodrigues, the real story lay in the effort behind the scenes. “This was made possible by a small, overworked team who believed it was worth doing,” he said. “People will see the media coverage and think it was effortless. But they won’t see what we did in the background—the stress, the calls, the lack of sleep, the costs. And it wasn’t just stress. It was disappointment. I felt embarrassed at times. But we kept going.”
Good Drop, which paid for most of the event upfront, including the venue, logistics, design, and marketing materials, received $ 11471.25 (₹6.5 lakhs) in sanctioned funds from APEDA. Rodrigues expects the final bill to exceed that. “We’re covering the shortfall ourselves. And that’s okay. I’m not writing this to complain. I’m writing it because we need to take collective responsibility for the future of Indian wine.”
The message in his post-event letter to WineGAI members was blunt. Indian wine cannot grow on ambition alone. It needs effort, collaboration, and commitment from the entire industry. “If one winery can pull this off, imagine what ten could do. Or all twenty.”
He acknowledged his events head, Sanjay Waghela, for working through the night, navigating shipments, negotiating delays, and making sure every piece came together. “He was the invisible force holding it all together.”
India’s domestic wine market is still young. Nearly 72 percent of the country’s wine consumption remains local. Yet consumption has grown steadily—from 29.2 million litres in 2020 to an expected 55.5 million litres by 2025. WineGAI, now representing over 20 wineries, was formed to help bring cohesion and advocacy to a fragmented sector. The industry still struggles with state-level trade barriers, outdated regulations, and limited export channels.
Rodrigues sees international markets as essential to India’s wine future, not just for sales but for credibility. “If Indian wine is to be taken seriously, we have to start showing up. On shelves. At tastings. At forums. We can’t just wait to be discovered.”
His goals remain ambitious. He wants Indian wine to grow into a ₹3,000 crore industry by 2030. He’s calling for a dedicated wine lab in Nashik. He continues to push for reforms that make it easier to move wine across Indian states. And he still finds time to build his own label, which began with a sparkling wine called Rio, packaged in a pint bottle with a pull-off cap—a bold product in a traditional industry.
At the Sydney event, he refused requests from officials to send leftover stock to the Consulate for private functions. “These wines were meant to make an impression, not to be served at random parties,” he said. He believes every bottle poured should work toward building a market, not feeding a buffet.
As Rodrigues boarded his flight back to Mumbai, he carried no illusions. “We have a long way to go. But this event showed what’s possible. Not just in terms of taste and interest, but in terms of effort. If we want Indian wine to grow, we have to stop waiting for someone else to do the work. We have to do it ourselves.”
And despite the missing bottles, the mission had landed.
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