India, October 10, 2023. Building on a collective of sixteen winemakers from seven different nationalities located in Argentina, Brazil, California, Australia, China, and India, CHANDON has thrived since its inception in 1959, on the exchange of ideas and savoir-faire. With a vision to become India’s premium homegrown wine brand, CHANDON Aurva is the co-creation of a harmonious duet between Kaushal Khairnar, CHANDON India’s whizz-kid head winemaker and the youngest of CHANDON’s chefs de caves, and CHANDON Australia’s winemaking director, Dan Buckle, a master in the art of Shiraz winemaking. Together the two experts have crafted a wine that reflects the best of both worlds – a poetic expression of Shiraz that captures the essence of India’s unique climate and terroir while benefiting from the shared wisdom, skill, and experience of a talented master winemaker.
“For years we have harnessed the power of our global lineage and shared viticulture methods across all our wineries worldwide. Born from CHANDON’s decades of shared know-how, Aurva reflects a commitment to transmission and collaboration. It’s not just a good idea; it’s a product of skill, experience, and a touch of magic,” says Kaushal Khairnar.
CHANDON’s Indian winery was inaugurated in 2014. By that time, Shiraz had already established itself as a star in the Indian wine landscape. CHANDON’s winemakers saw the potential of Nashik’s unique soils and climate, which, while unconventional for wine, held the promise of producing colourful, aromatic, and sensual Shiraz based sparkling wines. They proved to be right. CHANDON’s 100 percent Shiraz sparkling wine Rosé has established India on the global wine map garnering awards at prestigious international wine competitions, including Best Indian Sparkling Wine 2020 at the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships.
This success inspired Kaushal Khairnar and Dan Buckle when they started working on the creation of a new expression for the brand, an exquisite red wine they would name Aurva -the term “Aurva” translates to ‘of the earth’ in Sanskrit- paying tribute to the land and mythic beauty of the unique terroir of Nashik, Maharashtra: ‘the ancient home of the Warli people and their sacred art and culture.’
Concentrating on one harvest per year the winemakers imposed a selective approach that allows focus on the quality, freshness and integrity of the grapes. Meticulously crafted using 100% locally sourced Shiraz grapes carefully hand harvested by CHANDON partner growers in Nashik, India’s wine capital, aged in French oak barrels for ten months, CHANDON Aurva offers a symphony of rich aromas, velvety smoothness, and flavors of cloves, cherry, blueberry and plum.
The launch of CHANDON Aurva signifies a new chapter in CHANDON’s history of collaboration and transmission of ideas that for years has thrived on cultural cross-pollination.
Distributed by Moët Hennessy India, a leader in the luxury wine and spirit segment, CHANDON has fostered excellence in India’s wine culture for years with the establishment of its Indian winery ten years ago. CHANDON Aurva stands as a testament to this enduring commitment. Speaking on this exciting launch, Ipsita Das, Managing Director, Moët Hennessy India, said “Moët Hennessy is globally recognized and in India, we are not only ‘Made in India’ but ‘India Proud’. Aurva is a significant step in exactly that direction. We are confident in expanding our wine portfolio while maintaining a clear focus on the authenticity and quality of our products. With the launch of Aurva, we aim to showcase Nashik’s craftsmanship and encourage people to savor and explore another premium homegrown wine from the Moët Hennessy India portfolio. Aurva is a wine we are honoured to introduce to India and the world.”
CHANDON Aurva, priced at INR 4250 is currently available in Mumbai across select retail outlets and five-star properties. It is also available at the CHANDON winery in Nashik. It will be made available across other key markets by year end.
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