Betting On Indian Wine

Alok Chandra meets Singapore based oenophile, Ravi Viswanathan to learn what motivated him to invest so deeply in the wine sector in India.

- Alok Chandra

When a non-resident Indian (NRI) buys substantial equity stakes in the two largest Indian wine companies, it’s bound to create waves, so when word got out that Ravi Viswanathan’s VisVires Capital (Singapore) together with Reliance Capital (Mumbai) had invested some `300 crore (then nearly US$ 50 million) in Sula and Grover between 2012 and 2014, the wine world sat up and took notice.

The enigmatic Singapore-based Ravi Viswanathan (54) has also invested in Buyan, a Russian restaurant with a wine list comprising wines primarily from Russia, Georgia, France, and India, and Saha, the eponymous Indian restaurant started by award-winning chef Abhijit Saha, with a wine list consisting primarily of Indian and French wines.

Viswanathan’s family migrated from French-speaking Pondicherry to France in 1961 when he was just one month old. His father, who was a professor of French Literature, was posted in several parts of France including Burgundy and Algeria (which was then still a part of France), Senegal, Djibouti, and the island of Martinique. The family travelled with him everywhere. Wine was a regular feature at the family dining table, and the children were allowed a sip of watered-down wine on special occasions. Ravi says his passion for wine grew from there, specially the wines of Burgundy where they lived for many years. The family still has a home in Burgundy and they congregate there every summer.