India isn’t the best place in the world for the dedicated oenophile. While I certainly didn’t come here looking for the vineyards of Burgundy or the Barossa Valley, I do like my wine and getting a decent drop here is proving to be one of life’s bigger challenges.

Countless column inches have been written on India’s flourishing wine industry, with every writer keen to spot the wine industry as the “next big thing”. While I wouldn’t be so harsh as to describe Indian wines as “passable” or “drinkable” – as some critics have – domestic wines do tend towards too much sweetness and the standards don’t yet match those of the more traditional wine-making nations.

As a problem, it is a relatively minor one as it’s only to be expected and is eminently fixable. It’s a young industry and needs time to experiment with the varieties and production methods that best suit the Indian terroir. Standards are only going to get better, which is something to look forward to.

That day, however, is a while off and until then there are other, more entrenched problems make getting a drop of wine an expensive exercise in frustration.

The first is logistical. Transport companies are just not set up to shift crates of wine around a country whose climate can range from absolutely freezing cold to “Oh my God my head is going to explode” hot. With such an unkind climate, proper refrigeration and storage is vital to keep the living organism that is wine alive and healthy on its journey from producer to table.

However, even if that problem is overcome there’s still the issue of storage at the penultimate destination. I can’t recall how many times I’ve been handed a bottle of wine from a retailer that is warm to the touch or has been standing upright in the sun for days.

No matter how much care and attention is lavished on the bottle’s contents by the winemaker in the hills, all that work will come to nought when the wine is left to slowly broil in the sub-tropical sun.

With all these problems you’d think the answer would be to turn to what you know and splash out on a bottle of plonk from your nation of origin (or a close neighbour).

You’d think that, but you’d be wrong.

One thing Indian wineries are not lacking in is protection and government taxes – both federal and state – can turn what would be a $10 bottle of wine at home into something approaching 10 times that in India.

There are two things that are particularly galling about this situation. The first is that the $100 bottle of wine in your hand is usually something you might take to a party hosted by someone you didn’t particularly like so you could leave it in the kitchen and polish of the host’s decent stuff. The second is that the bottle has suffered the same trials and tribulations in its transport and storage as the local stuff, so is just as likely to be vinegar when you open it.

All of this is rather depressing and is enough to turn a man to temperance.

Which is why it’s nice to be spending this week at the Indian International Wine Fair in Bombay, where all the problems above – and more – are being discussed by people passionate about wine. These are people who want to produce, sell and drink the best product available. They want India to make wines that match and beat those from the rest of the world and they want to open India up to the delights of foreign wines without having to pay through the nose for it or risk it buying undrinkable waste. They want to educate Indians about what wine has to offer and how best to enjoy it.

I’ll drink to that.