A Conversation with Sonal Holland MW

Wine in India and the Importance of Basic Wine Communication

I met recently with Sonal Holland, India’s first and only Master of Wine, for an engaging conversation about India and wine, who’s been “disenfranchised” from wine culture (my terminology), and the need for basic wine education. Some of my questions emerged out of the 2023 Wine Industry Report of Silicon Valley Bank, including that “Future sales weigh on the industry’s ability to appeal to a new generation of consumers.”

Sonal is a consummate communicator, a sharp businesswoman, and fierce believer in wine’s future in her home country. I don’t know how she manages to accomplish so much simultaneously. She has a wine retail business, a wine academy, the SoHo Wine Club, and has generated a substantial social media following. She earned an MBA from the University of Mumbai and received her Master of Wine title in 2016. She also received a Diploma in Hotel Management from the IHM Mumbai and somehow found space for an advanced certification in Saké and Shochu. A glimpse at her profile at the IMW will tell you more about this extraordinary leader.

Sonal was in Mumbai; I was in Panama City.

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Sonal started by saying India was not understood regarding wine by the West. “International wine producers haven’t travelled to India enough, and culturally they don’t understand it. They keep trying to draw parallels with China.” She emphasized how China was a very different market, including evolving in very distinct ways and being “very erratic.” “Now everyone’s looking to come to India,” she said, and then mentioned how stories from ten years ago regarding failed attempts to market wine in India still abound. “A lot has changed in the past ten years. Consumption of domestic wine has really taken off.” She spoke about rising disposable income, including “growth of 15% a year over the past ten years.” There has been increased exposure to western lifestyles, and Indians are “very well-travelled.” “They encounter and consume their first glass of wine” and return home wanting to try more in India. Sonal pinpointed high taxes as a problem for market expansion.

She repeated that “the world hasn’t made an effort to understand” India while emphasizing how ubiquitous English is as the first language of business. Her English-language videos on social media, in fact, receive the most views, with the implication being that it’s not such a difficult market to manage, especially in comparison with China.

Sonal clearly view herself as a wine communicator and educator. She views lack of wine knowledge “100% as an opportunity.” She has a substantial presence on social media as well as a wine academy and produces numerous videos on wine. Gesturing with both hands, she says, “If I spoke as a Master of Wine, which I used to do way, way back in the beginning, I tried to talk about wines from Bordeaux, ‘left bank, right bank,’ and nobody seemed to care. Everybody thought, ‘well, what is she talking about.’ I loved that line that you used. I’m going to use it: ‘You have to meet the audiences where they are.’ You can’t expect them to come to you. I think there’s a general failure the world over. It’s not specific to India. The whole wine industry the world over fails to meet their audiences . . .”

“The audience for wine is unaware of wine,” she added. Wine education must be “sensible, easy to understand, helpful.” She blames wine communicators for a situation “where we choose just to speak to each other.” “I don’t know if that stems from ego, or a disconnect with the root, with the fundamental or ground-level knowledge. . . . There’s a secret language that’s only understood by this qualified fraternity.”

As an historical example, Sonal mentioned Robert Parker and summarized his mission, early on, with the Wine Advocate as, “Bring more consumers to wine. He simplified wine and brought more consumers to wine.” This, she emphasized, must be the individual and collective goal of wine communicators today. The greatest compliment Sonal receives is when someone tells her, “I’m truly inspired to try wine” for the first time after viewing one of her videos. “Especially when it’s from women from an underprivileged background.”

In response to my use of the word “disenfranchised,” she said that “is correct, but again, it’s not the producers, it’s the educators, the communicators, the advocates of wine” who have failed in a basic mission. The people who have earned wine trade qualifications such as SWE, IMW, CMS, and WSET, their “purpose is to train people in the trade, so it’s not their fault.” “The courses were built for the trade.” “They need to be structured, academic, and a little bit boring.” “This is not the way we would build it for consumers,” Sonal concluded.

She then revealed her own current motivation, which has resulted in praiseworthy accomplishments on the wine education front. “What do I need to do, as a Master of Wine, to be able to make a meaningful contribution in the demographic of the market where I exist. That’s all I think about. It’s a very simple question in my head.”

“My focus is different in India. . . . Even if I’m a MW I must be able to make wine affordable, accessible, and affable.” In her outreach, she addresses basic questions, such as “What wines to drink” Where, how much, how do I enhance my own lifestyle?” She emphasized that lifestyles and etiquette related content is important and engaging.

When asked about the recent Silicon Valley Bank Wine Industry Reports, Sonal agrees with the conclusions regarding the lack of wine consumption among younger people overall, but said that “Indian youth are not necessarily steering away from drinks.” There is no zero alcohol movement. “Canned wines, yes.” She concluded with, “I’m not so concerned about the Indian youth. We’re ten years behind [in market trends], which is probably a good thing. We have 10 years to act.”