�Nothing Better Than Opening A Bottle Of Bubbly!�

IF India can be described as a young wine-drinking nation, then Ranjit Chougule is the face of this nation, and his is the ruggedly handsome face of a wine baron with huge interests in sparkling wines, good food, fast cars and life. He is the managing director of Champagne India Ltd. � the flagship company of the Indage Group on whose board he is a member, and which is engaged in wine production and marketing, the hotel industry, construction, research and exports of premium quality Indian wines globally. This Chougule was born in India but brought up in the UK. �India,� he says, �is the birthplace of my spiritual self.� With an MBA in Finance from Citi University in UK, he joined his father, the legendary wine-maker Shamrao Chougule, as a management trainee in Indage in 1997. Chougule looked after the international business of Champagne India Ltd. with ease. And just so many years down the line, his ambitious restructuring plan has added the fizz and sparkle to India's pioneering wine-making house already; Indage has entered into five international joint ventures and is successfully exporting its wine brands to more than 69 nations. The book on him is that he is an entrepreneur to the core. And it is his deep understanding of the market dynamics and his focused vision to create a brand synonymous with international quality and standards, that has enabled Shamrao Chougule's Champagne India to expand from national leader to one of the largest global market players with a multi-crore turnover.

Today, Champagne India is the most favoured wine-producing public listed company in India, and its clientele spreads across the world, from North-East Asia to the Gulf, and from all across Europe to the Asia Pacific region and Northern America. Restless, and with one finger on the pulse of the industry, Chougule is launching more than 60 products in different categories for Indian and global markets, taking the Indage Group's number of brands to 100. He is completely immersed in the wine production business, while his brother Vikrant Chougule looks after the restaurants and wine bars of the Indage Group, and father Shamrao Chougule keeps an eye on the Chateau Indage estate vineyards at Narayangaon in Maharashtra. He is a big wine drinker himself, naturally, and tells the story of how he started at the young and innocent age of 11. �I remember stealing a bottle of Claret from a friend's father's cellar. The Claret tasted like crap � as it would to an 11-year-old! I will never forget the taste,� says Chougule. He has grown since then, not just in age but also experience, and has become mature in his wine-drinking habits. He tries to have wine with every meal. With dinner, a couple of glasses is de rigeur. Chougule says, �It puts me in a happy mood and is an inseparable part of eating. There is nothing greater than the excitement of opening a bottle of wine for dinner. It tingles the tastebuds and creates an anticipation for your meal. If I have a meal without wine, I feel sleepy. I think it is different for other people!� His tastebuds are pretty sharp and Chougule says modestly that every aspect of a wine is broken down by him with the first sniff. �I can tell the age, vineyard, grape varietal, blend, taste, acidity, sugar and alcohol content, the overall nuances of the soil.�

But Chougule is a sparking wine man, this is his first preference, and the Ivy Brut made of Chardonnay, Riesling and Muscat grapes, is his big and all-time favourite. �I can have it at any time of the day,� he admits. The times he is travelling and cannot enjoy his drink, Chougule says he suffers from a Brut attack. �Whenever I land, there's nothing better I enjoy doing that cracking open a bottle of the bubbly. That sets the mood,� he says. He travels to Chateau Indage once in every two weeks. Over there, Chougule sticks his nose in 60 to 80 tanks and tastes the wines being produced in them. He also discusses whatever new blends the wine-makers are involved in, holds production and sales meetings, looks into the public relations of the company. Chougule likes traveling abroad with wife Rina and three-and-half-year-old son Arjun where they discover new restaurants and go on wine trails. �I don't have time for my other hobbies, sports and music. But cars, like wines, are a big part of my life. In England, I used to wash my car before I brushed my teeth every morning! And here in Bombay, we have more cars to worry about at home than there are people. I drive a Porsche that requires day-to-day maintenance because it is air-cooled by oil. There's nothing more satisfying that driving a good and fast car,� Ranjit Chougule says. �Except, perhaps, opening a bottle of bubbly!�

Quote

Chougule says modestly that every aspect of a wine is broken down by him with the first sniff. �I can tell the age, vineyard, grape varietal, blend, taste, acidity, sugar and alcohol content, the overall nuances of the soil.� But he is a sparking wine man, this is his first preference, and the Ivy Brut made of Chardonnay, Riesling and Muscat grapes, is his big and all-time favourite. �I can have it at any time of the day,� he admits.