Entrance to Chateau Indage Vineyards, Narayangaon - Pune, Mah

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Cheateau Indage
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Indian wine The modern Indian Wine market is small but growing; annual per capita consumption of wine in the country is a mere 9 milliliters, approximately 1/8000th that of France. The main reason for this can be attributed to the fact that Indians preference ...

ry located in

Narayangaon Narayangaon is a town in the Junnar taluka of the Pune district of Maharashtra state, India. Water is abundant because of its proximity to the major dams, the western ghats, and the Sahyadri mountain range. Geography Narayangaon is located 656 ...

, which is located close to

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. Cheateau Indage was founded by Shyamrao Chowgule in 1982 after two years of research by Champagne Technologies of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. They have three facilities – one each in Narayangaon,

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

History

On a business trip to Paris, Chougule fell in love with champagnes and decided to produce sparkling wine in Maharashtra, where he started a winery in 1984. He first named the company Champagne India Ltd, changing it to C.I. Ltd. when the French raised an objection, and finally to Chateau Indage Ltd. He started exporting his bubbly in 1986 under the labels Omar Khayyam, under consultancy from Piper Heidsieck. It was after he was allowed to sell 25% to the Indian market, he started Marquis de Pompadour (MDP) and made it a household name. Eventually he imported a complete plant with a capacity of 750,000 bottles, then costing Rs. 7 Crore (Rs. 70 million), as also the special yeast from France for the second fermentation.

Today

The company achieved great heights, selling wine under multiple labels such as Riviera, Chantilli and Tiger Hills, winning international awards and at one time was exporting to almost 70 nations. The parent company, Indage Vintners, was even listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and had about 60% market share by around 2006. Eventually, a few investment decisions led to the company falling into debt and being ordered by the courts to liquidate its assets. The founder, Shamrao Chougule, passed away in August 2020, and is survived by sons Ranjit and Vikrant.
The new wine drinkers - livemint
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The Chateau Indage legacy through their lively chateau soirees

References

Wineries of India Companies based in Pune 1982 establishments in Maharashtra Indian companies established in 1982 {{India-company-stub