Wine - The fine corporate gift!
Adding value to dealings lends that extra edge to corporate affairs. And, there’s nothing as dear as a gift to thank a special client, business associate or employee. It fetches the point across just perfectly and works wonders for long. Nothing beats a wine bottle that blends informality with revelry particularly so in corporate circles.
Considering that the Indian wine story is making waves around the world with talk of Chateau Indage and its Australian acquisition, Tandou, the nation does lag a wee behind achieving its true potential. But, with wine leading the list of corporate gifts, we’re well on the way to changing all of that.
The number of regular whisky drinkers is 200 million compared to 700,000 wine drinkers and finally the domestic market is expected to grow to 9.76 million bottles by 2010 according to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) registering a whopping 30 per cent increase. If that doesn’t endorse the fact that wine makes for the perfect corporate gift, what does?
“You could place your company logo and a personalised message on each distinctive bottle label to ensure your gift makes a lasting impression. Gourmet foods, crystal-ware and other wine accessories could also be added to the gift,” offers corporate communications manager Francine Mathews. “It could be on just about any occasion like say expressing greetings on a holiday or appreciation for a job well done or just a simple expression of gratitude for a job completed in time,” she says.
The gift should meet your firm’s high standards as well as project a positive image too. And in that regards, wine makes things a lot easier. “If the wine is hand-packed in a wooden gift box accompanied by a gift card and a hand-written label it could do the trick,” offers Francine. “Nothing beats a personalised gift,” she adds.
With the range of products by major Indian wineries such as CI - Narayangaon, Grover Vineyards and Sula Vineyards, there is no dearth of indigenous high-quality wines too.
Narayangaon’s CI is a pioneer of French style wines in India, and produces exquisite qualities in both still and sparkling wines. Producing over 3 million bottles annually, some of their wines are exported to several European and Asian countries. It has a great collection of European wine varieties.
There’s also the Grovers Vineyards in southern Karnataka which exports wines worth $4,35,000 every year. Grovers’ has 200 hectares of vineyards under wine-grapes of 35 varieties. And then, there’re Nashik’s Sula vineyards – the newest additions to India’s wine list too whose products make for perfect corporate gifts.
Apart from wine bottles that come in myriad shapes and sizes, they are also draped in wonderful wine bags that are aimed to provide secure grip and offer convenience. The bags also serve as brilliant gift wrappings on the bottles. You could look for bags that come in different sizes ranging from a single bottle to multiple pairs. Besides being adorned with designs that range from floral motifs to traditional designs, a few of them could also be designed with delicate embroidery work to lend a touch of class to the wine.
“Why only designs or prints, you could make wine bags of jute too that make for excellent slip-proof covers. And on top of them you could imprint your logo and company name or have it embroidered on these bags and use them as very personal gifts,” feels wine connoisseur and senior account manager with Mumbai-based advertising agency Reha Mehrotra.
If you thought that wine was meant for the snob think again. The nation’s Mughal emperors would enjoy shiraz imported from Iran in the 16th and 17th centuries an even had their own vineyards. Today, back after a long hiatus, wine makes for fashionable drinking with affluent professionals and businessmen indulging regularly.
Growing three times as fast as traditional favourites like whiskey and rum, the wine industry is set to boom with the state planning to set up a National Grape and Wine Board to establish standards and promote the industry. Would you believe it: India has about 60,000 hectares of grapevines under cultivation and about 40 wineries.
With major wine producers in India busy tying up with the retail chains that are entering the Indian market, corporate gifting of wine’s going to get all the better and for good. “Nothing beats a good wine bottle or two wrapped in hand-made paper and packed in a bamboo basket with a couple of neatly-packed wine glasses as a corporate gift,” offers Tribalware director (sales and marketing) Nitin Goel. “Besides providing the perfect blend of informality even amidst ceremonial relationships, a gift of wine symbolises a celebration of sorts too…which most other gifts can’t quite match,” says Mr Goel.
