1. An export price, ex-cellar
The importer works out what your wine will cost on a shelf in their state. That calculation starts from your price at the cellar, then adds freight, insurance, 150 percent federal duty on the landed value, state excise and the margins along the way. A clear ex-cellar price list for each wine and vintage, per bottle and per case, is the first thing they will ask for.
2. Technical sheets
One page per wine: grape varieties, appellation, alcohol, residual sugar, acidity, ageing and closure. The importer uses it to present the wine to distributors and buyers, and to fill in label and registration forms.
3. Lab analysis and a certificate of origin
When wine arrives in India, the food safety authority FSSAI checks the label, and it can send the wine for laboratory testing. An analysis from an accredited laboratory for each wine helps it through. A certificate of origin is required for every shipment of wine, and it will also be the basis for claiming lower duty once the EU and India trade agreement is in force.
4. Case and pallet details
Bottles per case, case weight and size, and how many cases fit on a pallet. Freight is priced on volume and weight, and it is part of the value that duty is charged on. Say also whether you can ship mixed pallets. A first order often covers several wines in small quantities.
5. Label artwork
Wine sold in India carries an Indian back label with the importer's name and address, the FSSAI logo and licence number, and the health warnings Indian rules require. Most states register the label before the wine can be sold there. The importer handles the registration. You supply the artwork and the technical details, in files they can work with.
6. Stock, vintages and lead time
How many bottles of each wine and vintage you can set aside for India, and how long an order takes to prepare. Registration and first sales take months, so an importer wants to know the wine will still be there for the second order.
7. Where you already sell
Your current export markets, and whether you already work with anyone in India or nearby. It tells the importer where your wine already sits, and whether anyone else already holds the rights to sell it there.
8. Photos and your story
Bottle shots, vineyard photos and a short history of the estate. Distributors and buyers in India first meet your wine through the importer's presentation, so these travel further than you might expect.
What Diwinely does in this
We gather this with you before any importer sees the wine, check it against what Indian importers and states ask for, and turn it into one clear presentation. The conversation with the importer can then start with the wine itself.
Published 29 October 2026. Requirements differ between states and change over time; your importer will confirm what applies.