New Delhi, Three Indian wines produced by leading brands Chateau Indage, D’Ori and Sula, respectively, won a silver medal each at the Indian Wine Challenge that saw 16 countries participating.

The wines that won are - Château Indage Marquise de Pompadour, Château D’Ori Cabernet Merlot 2007 and Sula 2008 Late Harvest Chenin. The challenge held at the Hyatt Regency here Wednesday night saw 76 wines from India participating of the 501 entries from 16 countries.

Indian wines won eight medals and 31 seals of approval of the 185 medals and 129 seals of approval awarded at the event.

Spy Valley Gewerztraminer 2008 from New Zealand (Best White), Shaw & Smith Shiraz 2006 from Australia (Best Red Wine) and Devaux Cuvee 'D' Brut Champagne (Best Sparkling) led the wine entries.

The wines were judged anonymously on a "blind" basis with no revelation of the country of origin to the tasters.

“The Indian wine challenge was very good. We (Indian wines) got three silver awards this year compared to one silver last year,” Shubhash Arora, president, Indian Wine Club, told IANS.

“The wines made it on their own considering they were chosen on a blind basis by both foreign and Indian judges and the Indian wines were kept in the same category as the world wines and not separately,” added Arora, who also heads the Indian Wine Academy.

The challenge was chaired by international wine expert Robert Joseph and judged by a jury of international and Indian tasters that included John Forester (New Zealand), Roberto Bava (Italy), Gina Gallo (California), Vanya Cullen and John Quarisa (Australia) along with Arora.

Sommelier and TV wine journalist Magandeep Singh and wine consultant Alok Chandra were also part of the jury.

Joseph said he believed the future for the Indian wine industry was bright if “it paid heed to the recommendations of the tasters in their discussions with local winemakers”.

The Indian Wine Challenge 2008 began with a preliminary round Oct 7-9 in London, followed by tastings in New Delhi, Nov 11-12.

The award winning wines and overall winners will be showcased at International Food, Drink and Hospitality Exhibition (IFE) India, 2008, to be held Dec 2-4.

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