Wine lovers and makers in the state can raise a toast to the International Wine Festival to be held this December. Organised by the Karnataka Wine Board, the festival aims at global exposure for local winemakers and to leverage the best technologies to explore new markets for Indian wines. Attractions of the Festival The festival line-up features some of the big names in the international wine market in Europe, Australia and America. “Moet Hennessy from France - the makers of Moet Chadon Champagne, Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle, Hardys from Australia - the makers of Hardys Stamp Series wines, Ruffino House from Italy - the manufacturers of Ruffino Chianti and Ruffino Orvieto white wine are among the participants at the proposed wine festival,” B Krishna, Managing Director of Karnataka Wine Board (KWB) told Express. State-of-the-art equipment in wine manufacturing and the best of wines will be on display at the festival. Seminars on wine and health, grape cultivation and wines that best suit Indian consumers will be organised. Exploration of New Opportunities The festival also offers local vintners an opportunity to showcase their products for the global market and explore the possibilities for technology transfer in manufacturing. “Exploring opportunities for developing wine tourism will be discussed at the festival,” Krishna said. Karnataka will take part in the London Wine Festival to be held in May next year, Krishna added.