The third edition of the India Wine Awards saw 116 winning wines being crowned from a total of 376 wine nominations and 17 restaurants for their wine programs, at a glittering ceremony held at the Grand Ballroom, The Leela, Mumbai
The awards ceremony saw a total of 116 medals being awarded, to wines in Silver, Gold and Diamond Best in Show categories, and a further 17 restaurants in the country being recognized for their outstanding wine lists and as best wine destinations.
The winning wines included 17 Diamond Best in Class Trophies for those outstanding wines that had the top scores in the competition results. This year, the popular Best Wine Pairings with Cuisines Popular in India category had 8 Trophy Winners emerge from 56 wines, paired with six dishes including sushi, Kung Pao chicken, pizza, Haleem, Thai green curry, and Fabelle chocolates from ITC group.
The India Wine Awards, led by the most qualified and foremost wine professionals in India and abroad, is an initiative powered by Sonal Holland MW, India’s first Master of Wine, Founder-Director of SoHo Wine Club and her Namesake Academy.
Wines entered in the competition were judged over two days, in September this year, by a panel chaired by Sonal Holland MW, comprising 17 distinguished wine professionals, hospitality leaders and tastemakers. As always, the tastings were done blind, without any knowledge of producer, region or quality level.
The IWA are India’s first awards to recognise that at comparable price-points, well-made, premium examples of Indian wines are on par with international ones for their world-class attributes, indicating that the Indian wine industry is indeed maturing, and domestic wines are evolving for the better, in taste, quality and enjoyability.
The sparkling 2019 India Wine Awards night ended on a high note, bringing to culmination, a year-long process to recognise the best available wines, as well as the best places to drink wine in the country.
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