By Sumana Mukherjee From Live Mint

From the cricket field to the sales spiel, the commercial director of Accolade Wines—in India as Hardys—has it all extra-covered.

Pringle’s workday starts with Australia and travels westwards with the sun, ending with the US and the Caribbean. To round it off perfectly, he loves a Shiraz or a Sauvignon Blanc.

Nick Pringle has lost his voice. The commercial director of Accolade Wines Ltd—known in India by its brand Hardys—attributes it to his hectic travel schedule: three weeks on the road most months, and the whistlestop India tour part of an itinerary that takes him all the way to the Caribbean before he returns to his home base in the UK. But, he admits, the lifestyle was a good part of the reason why the alcobev industry was his first career choice. So he nurses his throat with a hot toddy and sportingly takes on questions.

Actually, “sporting” is Pringle’s first nature: Between 1986-91, the tall Dorset-born played first-class cricket for Somerset, watching in awe as the likes of Vivian Richards, Steve Waugh, Ian Botham and Sunil Gavaskar sauntered in and out of the dressing room. A useful right-hand batsman and bowler, Pringle travelled the world with his team, developing a taste early for the good life. “Sport in England has traditionally had a deep association—sponsorships and so on—with the liquor industry, though it is changing now. So all the while I was travelling the world playing cricket, I was also building up contacts in the trade. When it came to choosing a profession, this seemed to be a natural progression,” rasps the 47-year-old.

Interestingly enough, Pringle’s career path has followed much the same trajectory as the evolving palate of the average drinker, as he grows from beer to spirits to wine. Pringle started his sales career with InBev, the brewing company formed by the merger of Belgium’s Interbrew and Brazil’s Ambev, moved to a variety of roles at Constellation Brands Inc., a New York-based producer and marketer of beer, spirits and wine, before joining Accolade in 2011. At Accolade, he is in charge of emerging markets, ranging from Asia through to southern Europe, Africa and Central and South America.

As a result of all the travel his job entails, says Pringle, “there are probably 20 or 30 countries in the world where I can pick up the phone, call someone and say, ‘Hey, I’m in your town, shall we meet up for a glass of wine?’ The social side of what I do is really important to me. I still retain a childlike enthusiasm for travel—I get excited about boarding a plane. Because of my job, every day, I meet people I have never met before, I establish business relationships that turn into friendships.”

In India, Pringle hopes, the 11-year alliance with Sula Selections—the arm of Sula Vineyards that sources wines for the Indian market from Australia, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand, as well as “Old World” regions like France and Italy—will mature into one such relationship. As part of its portfolio, Sula now sells five wines from the Hardys stable: the Semillon Chardonnay, the Shiraz Cabernet, the Stamp Sparkling Chardonnay-Pinot Noir, the Riesling Gewurztraminer and the Cabernet Merlot.

The brand has aggressive growth plans for India, where it is No.2 in marketshare among the Australian imports. “Right now the market is in a fascinating stage,” Pringle says. “Sula is setting out the building blocks for Hardys to develop a strong platform over the next five years.”

Growing the market and inculcating the wine habit in India are both arguably slow affairs, admits Pringle, primarily because it all had to begin from zero. “From a global perspective, this is a very young market. The difference with, say, a South Africa is the colonial influence: The Dutch and the French set down vines there about 300 years ago. So, at a different level, wines have always been around,” he points out, pausing to sip on his toddy. “This is my second visit to India—I came down for the first time in October last year—and I see more opportunities than challenges. Sure, the bureaucracy and the import taxes are prohibitive, but they are not deal-breakers. Even with the existing barriers, the Indian wine industry—wine importers and domestic producers alike—are coming together to bring about change. It’s only a matter of time.”

That said, Pringle is already noticing similarities between the Indian market and those in Africa, South America and parts of China. “There is an increase in the number of consumers with growing disposable incomes. Many people are switching from beer to wine. We are, in essence, creating a new category in these markets,” he says.

As we settle down to a quick Chinese lunch at Shiro’s at UB City, Bangalore, Pringle surprises me by skipping the two Hardys wines on the menu, and asking for the Sula Sauvignon Blanc instead. How come, I ask, after we’ve each taken care of a glass. “I was interested in trying out an Indian Sauvignon Blanc,” he grins, even as he asks the attending waistaff if they would like to share the bottle. “Besides, the citrusy-lemony flavours, with their balanced acidity, go well with our food choices.”

“IN PARENTHESIS: What would a man who values his food and drink equally choose for his last meal on earth? “My wife Lisa is half Sri Lankan, but I’ve always been addicted to Indian food. For my last meal, I’d begin with a nice sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay as an aperitif and with starters. At some point, I would also pair it with a ‘dal makhani’. My favourite dish, though, is ‘rogan josh’ with its complex spices. I would pair that with a dry, crisp Riesling to start with, and when the spice heat starts building up, move to a slightly oaked Sauvignon Blanc. Next, I would have a higher alcohol strength Merlot with a ‘jalfrezi’. And, finally, I would choose ‘kulfi’ for dessert and pair it with a New Zealand Noble Rot Sauvignon Blanc—I find them more complex than the Sauternes and Chateau d’Yquems of the world, and fruitier than the austere French dessert wines.””

Dressed down on a Thursday in a check shirt and dark trousers, Pringle affects the easy-breezy manner of the man in the lifestyle trade. From our lunch date at UB City, he will travel to the Marriott Hotel Whitefield, where Hardys is hosting a barbeque in association with Weber India, the local arm of the American barbeque products manufacturer, barely 24 hours after a similar party in Mumbai.

Does social intercourse on this almost-professional scale provide enough of an accurate idea of a people, I wonder aloud. Pringle asserts that it does, especially as far as business is concerned. “An event such as this evening’s involves a concentrated interaction with people with whom I share at least one common interest,” he says, while tucking into his honey-glazed sesame chicken. “That opens doors for wider conversations.”

Since he does as a part of work what most people do in their downtime, what does Pringle do when he’s not working? “After cricket, I’m a rugby man, though I end up watching football more since my 12-year-old son Sam—I have two, and a daughter as well—supports Liverpool. But I’m probably happiest when I’m watching Sam play cricket,” he responds. “And then there’s music, which segues pretty well with my other passion, which is fitness. Being blessed enough to be living in the rural surrounds of Somerset, running with my dogs is my favourite way to stay in shape.”

The good life, indeed.

IMAGES:

Illustration: Jayachandran/Mint

Nick Pringle

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