New technologies have improved the quality of Cava, according to Institut del Cava president Magin Raventos.

News that a wine created specifically to go with Asian food is to be launched in India brings the old British adage of "taking coals to Newcastle" to mind. Pink Elephant, a Portuguese rosé wine, has been picked up by United Vintners, which is part of the Indian group United Breweries, the third largest spirits producer in the world.

That may not be a huge story in itself, but the potential of India, coupled with the people behind Pink Elephant and its creator, 10 International , makes it interesting.

There are an estimated 700,000 wine drinkers in India (source: United Beverages Group) but the potential is a mouthwatering 20 to 30 million. At present three-quarters of the wine drunk in India is local and 41 per cent is described as premium domestic.

Bottled imports amount to 18 per cent and bulk imports 4 per cent. While beer and spirits such as whisky and gin have associations with India's colonial past, wine is cosmopolitan and fashionable, if not avant garde. A Bollywood star is unlikely to be seen with anything else. Also, wine is perceived as healthy.

For 10 International founder Bill Rolfe, this could be his chance to make a breakthrough. After 30 years with UK off-licence chain Unwins (now defunct), working his way up from shop assistant to marketing director , then four years as international marketing director at United Wineries (Arco Bodegas Unidas), Spain's third largest wine producer with brands such as Berberana, Marqués de Monistrol and Marqués de Griñón , he's paid his dues.

Following a company re organisation, Rolfe and a colleague, Toby Hancock, left and decided to pool their international knowledge to look for opportunities in the wine sector. 10 International was born in June 2006, the concept being to work with 10 producers in 10 countries to create 10 new wine brands.

The first project was to create a wine that would go with spicy food. Rolfe and Hancock held a blind tasting in the Masala Zone Indian restaurant in London with 12 well-known writers, journalists and masters of wine - the likes of Sarah Jane Evans MW, Anthony Rose, John Radford, Christine Parkinson and Matthew Jukes.

Tasting rosé wines from brands such as Jacob's Creek and E&J Gallo, the panel scored which they liked and commented on which they thought went best with the dishes. Contrary to expectations, the panel did not like the sweeter wines. They felt the ones that went best had some balancing acidity.

Winemakers José Neiva and Dave Baverstock (Sir Cliff Richard's winemaker, no less), used these comments as a basis for their work and the result was Pink Elephant, which is currently a blend of Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alfro cheiro Preto (or Pé de Rato, which means mouse paw) and Castelão (or Periquita, which means parrot). The new 2007 will be 50 per cent Touriga Nacional.

Pink Elephant having been generally well accepted in the UK, Rolfe got an unexpected recommendation from the Wine Society of India, namely board members Steven Spurrier (the man about to be portrayed by Alan Rickman in the film about the famous Paris tasting, where fine Bordeaux wines were trounced by Californian wines ) and David Banford.

"Steven saw the potential," says Rolfe. "He told us to do some research and basically there is an emerging middle class that has quadrupled over the past five years. There is clearly an opportunity so we approached United Breweries."

Rolfe and Hancock have other irons in the fire - there is a Spanish wine, Altaro ; one from Argentina should be coming soon, and they are in talks with Chilean and Californian producers.

For the time being, though, they just have the one elephant in their room, so to speak. Pink Elephant currently sells 300,000 bottles and Rolfe expects it to top a million this year. If India takes to it, that room may need considerable enlarging.

Franco Luxardo's introduction into the drinks industry was more dramatic than most. He was still a boy at the end of World War II, when three family members were killed by communist partisans led by the future president Tito of Yugoslavia and the remainder of the family driven into exile in Italy.

Though the family's roots are in Italy, the family liqueur business was founded in 1821 in what is now Croatia, but was then part of the greater republic of Venice.

Franco entered the business in the early 60s after being sent abroad to learn about the world and hone his impeccable English - including an enlightening spell in the Mormon community of Salt Lake City.

Today the company supplies its 62 export markets out of a distillery in the village of Torreglia in the Veneto region of northern Italy, built by Franco's father, Giorgio, 60 years ago.

Franco says: "He chose a rural area because of the quality of the water ; the soil, which is perfect for growing the cherries for the maraschino liqueur; and, in case there was another war, it wouldn't get bombed."

At 71, Franco's the patriarchal head of the company, though he still uses the title export manager, a nod to the dimension he's given to the business in more than four decades of service.

"The big responsibilities are shared and whether you're called the president, the general manager or something else it doesn't mean a lot. The salaries are the same for everyone - but with a little bit extra for age."

Franco fell into the export role because "I knew languages better than my cousins and we needed to export".

He adds: "The market in Italy was limited and there was a lot of competition.

"We were always told by the previous generations that we used to export a lot, so why didn't we try it again?"

Canada was one of the first export markets he cracked and remains the company's second most important market today.

"I realised Canada, with the liquor boards, was very much about doing business on a personal level, because you have one buyer for the state who was also dealing with the distributors, so if you have them on your side you're in with a good chance.

"I just kept going back, year after year, until they agreed to take our products."

For a long time the family had to cope with rival products from Yugoslavia using its name in international markets.

"We had to fight to defend ourselves because what we had there had been confiscated, including our labels, which were being used by another producer controlled by the government.

"They were using our labels and selling them in Switzerland, Germany and France. It took at least 20 years but we managed to overcome that."

The UK has been one of Luxardo's most successful markets - particularly for sambuca, where distributor Cellar Trends claims a 72 per cent share for the on-premise sector.

The market has been opened up b y promoting "shot-tails" - layered mixes of sambuca and other liqueurs from the range that stretch usage of Luxardo's products away from their origins.

"Shot-tails are an excellent idea," Franco says diplomatically, "but I like my sambuca as a digestif.

"The shot is very English. In Italy, even the word doesn't exist. The closest we have is il senso russo, which means 'in the Russian way'."

The secret to success, he believes, is to adapt to the conditions of different markets, which is relatively easy to do with a range of more than 30 liqueur and grappa products in the portfolio.

"In Japan, the anise-based products aren't so well-liked. It's more about amaretto, maraschino and the espresso coffee liqueur."

Distributors are chosen carefully to fit the Luxardo profile.

"Traditionally, we've tried to get together with family-owned companies because it gives you continuity," he says. "With multinationals, it's a mess because they change personnel every six months and don't have a personal feel for the business."

Greece, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Argentina all presumably have agents with a good feel for the business, as Franco picks them out as current export highlights for Luxardo.

It's an understandable stance to take, given what the family firm has taken to get to where it is. "It's rare to see it through three generations like this," says Franco, with some pride.

When the founder of the Patrón Spirits Company, John Paul DeJoria, made his first batch of 1,000 cases of ultra-premium tequila in 1989, there was a particular vision that it would become a global luxury brand that would alter consumers' perceptions of Mexico's native spirit. He was happy to give spare bottles away to his celebrity friends if it didn't work out as a business.

Eighteen years down the line, the Las Vegas-based company he co-founded with Martin Crowley is selling 1.5 million cases of tequila, and seeing annual sales of its Citró nge and XO Café liqueurs double, while the Pyrat ultra-premium rum brand is one of the best sellers in the States in the over-US$25 category.

Now extending into the lucrative vodka territory, the company announced its purchase of the global distribution rights to the ultra-premium Ultimat brand portfolio in October.

Chief operating officer John McDonnell admits that 95 per cent of the company's tequila sales are in the US market, but that's changing rapidly.

Two years ago, the Caribbean islands of St Maarten and St Thomas were Patrón's only export markets. Now, its tequila is sold in more than 60 countries and new distributors are signing up at a considerable pace.

The tequila is backed by a global ad campaign that uses local market twists on the same theme of "simply perfect", and links with high-profile events such as the Korean version of the Oscars. In the US, DeJoria's contacts book helped Patrón get into the hands of Clint Eastwood, Peter Fonda and Dan Aykroyd.

Overseas distributors range from the big-hitting Brown-Forman in Taiwan to the niche Brinkman Beverages in Ireland. McDonnell says distributor philosophy matters more than size.

"We look for people to work with who know the luxury spirits market and are used to dealing with the right accounts and doing high-end promotions in hotels, restaurants and bars," says McDonnell.

The reasoning behind this DI profile is that Patrón isn't a tequila just for slamming , but for sipping on the rocks or putting into cocktails - serves that McDonnell estimates account for roughly a 50-50 split in the brand's consumption.

That's not too surprising for a brand that models itself as the "Dom Perignon of tequila" and sells for just short of £50 in the UK, with comparable prices in other markets. The tequila is made with only the highest-priced Weber's Blue agave and hand-packed in a hand-blown bottle, decked out with natural cork and ribbons. The "super ultra-premium" Gran Patrón Platinum comes in a "violin-quality, curly maplewood box".

Many other spirit firms would be happy to save on the costs and build in a little more margin.

"We're privately-owned, and we choose to focus on quality not quantity," says McDonnell. "We can control how we get to market, but when you're publicly-owned you've got to answer to shareholders."

In the short time Patrón has had a European presence, Ireland and Greece have been particular success stories, buoyed by the high numbers of American tourists visiting those countries.

"We're very pleased with the growth we've experienced in Canada and the international cruise ship business has been extremely surprising," says McDonnell. "Pyrat rum has really had a lot of support on menus in that market."

One of the biggest successes has come in World Duty Free at UK airports, where there's been a year-long rolling promotional campaign.

McDonnell adds: "We launched in Japan earlier this year. It's a key market for us because it's all about high-end space and we're investing a lot of time in that market." Hong Kong and Singapore are other focus markets in the Far East.

Latin American business is concentrated on the central region, with Costa Rica "the shining success". He adds: "We're gradually expanding out into Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras."

The Mexican market itself is confined to a couple of small towns. "It's all about finding the right partners for distribution. We're not going to go to the market for the sake of ticking a box, but we're doing extremely well in duty-free on the Mexico-US border."

And still to come? "We haven't scratched the surface in the Middle East or eastern Europe just yet. The next big one I'd like to get into is Russia, which is a huge opportunity, and we're looking to increase our activity in Korea. Those would be the big two we're looking at."

Looks like the celebrities will find the freebies a little harder to come by in the future.

Nearly 20 years ago, two events occurred in the life of perhaps the world's most famous winemaker, Michel Rolland. He met luxury goods tycoon Alain Dominique Perrin and he went to Argentina.

Rolland has maintained his connection with both and there is one common factor - Malbec. More readily associated with Merlot and Cabernet thanks to his consultancies in Bordeaux, Rolland has spent years observing one of the Médoc's all-but forgotten varieties in the sun-baked vineyards of Mendoza and the rolling hills surrounding Cahors in south west France.

He's uniquely placed to analyse the similarities and differences , having helped Perrin to elevate Château Lagrézette in Cahors from obscurity to international fame . At the same time, he has worked with Argentinian producers to exploit what has become that country's signature grape, masterminding the establishment of the Clos de los Siete project with some of the leading wine families of Bordeaux.

So what are the differences and similarities?

First things first: Rolland is in no doubt about the intrinsic quality of the varietal. He says : "A good grape is a grape able to produce good rosé wine, light but fruity elegant wine, quite big wine or very smart wine like Pigeonnier [Lagrézette's top wine]. That's a good grape."

And, despite first appearances, tiny Cahors and the vast wine fields of Argentina have more in common than you might think. For a start, they share a more continental climate than Bordeaux - important for a grape that likes dry conditions.

"Malbec doesn't like Bordeaux because Bordeaux is often rainy and Malbec doesn't like rain," says Rolland. "That's why we pulled out almost all the Malbec from Bordeaux."

In Rolland's early encounters with Malbec in Argentina and Cahors he faced similar challenges. "The big problem in Cahors for years and even now has been over production. In Argentina, it is the same. We can produce 20 tonnes a hectare if we want - but the wine is awful."

The situation in Cahors was further complicated by a conservative, even reactionary, attitude to winemaking. Château Lagrézette's winery was only built in 1992, with earlier vintages outsourced - as Rolland remembers only too well.

"When I went to the co-op where Lagrézette was made, all the harvest was in one tank," Rolland recalls. "And we were fighting ..." He clenches his fists in mock aggression. "I told the Cave Coopérative to reduce yields. The guy was looking at me - what is this guy? This is a crazy guy ."

Years later, the association with Cahors is still uneasy . Perrin is clearly frustrated about the AOC rules governing Lagrézette and has spoken of his dream of turning the château into a kind of Vega Sicilia of the sud ouest, recognised as one of the top wines "in the Malbec world".

Lagrézette general manager Jean Courtois puts this in concrete terms: "We are talking about Lagrézette, Malbec, France, with the signature of Alain-Dominique Perrin. We are not really talking about Cahors."

Rolland agrees. "Malbec is really telling something to the consumer. Cahors stayed for years and years Cahors. The name was known in France, but nothing outside France. Now if we want to make the image bigger for Cahors, we have to give an identity, and the identity is Malbec more than Cahors."

As the man credited with the revival of Cartier, Perrin clearly has the wherewithal to cement Lagrézette's position at the top of the Malbec tree. He has recently bought 20ha of vineyards 15km from the château and he is considering a further e2 million investment in Lagrézette .

Such budgets are dwarfed by the investments in Argentina, with Rolland spearheading the huge Clos de los Siete project, to take one example. But he sees no conflict of interest or contradiction in championing the same grape variety on different sides of the world.

"The consumer is drinking Argentinian one day and Cahors the next," he says. "The trick is getting them to come back to the shop and take the bottle home again. "

And his personal favourite? Rolland takes refuge in the winemaker's traditional defence. "How can I choose between Malbec from Argentina and Malbec from Cahors? When you have children, you see how difficult it is to choose between them. I drink them both!"