Corked Willow
On a crisp September evening, Surjit’s restaurant in Sydney played host to cricket stars Mitchell Starc, Alyssa Healy and Lisa Sthalekar, who presented their new venture Corked Willow. The initiative aims to educate India on Australia’s wine market and help bring Australian wines to the country.
Corked Willow will partner with Tasmanian winery House of Arras and vegan-friendly brand Pete’s Pure Wines. It does not make its own wines – instead, it aims to put more Australian wines on Indian shelves, host tastings and build a presence at the country’s wine events.
“There’s a changing culture where wine is becoming more accepted in India,” Sthalekar noted, “and with the trade agreement between Australia and India there are development opportunities.”
Bringing wine to India has been challenging. The drink is less popular in India than spirits or beer, mainly because of cultural barriers and high costs. But an increasing interest in it, particularly in India’s middle class, is helping the industry grow. Austrade reports that the Indian alcohol market grew 7% in 2025, with the wine segment to increase 15% every year.
Government incentives to boost wine exposure and consumption also exist. The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has lowered import taxes on Australian wine, helping to increase its retail availability, and the Joint Dialogue on Wine between the countries aims to cultivate trade and sector cooperation.
Despite the commercial benefits of engaging with India, Corked Willow’s goal is much simpler.
“We just want good wine in India,” Sthalekar said.
Alyssa Healy, former captain of the Australian women’s national team and the UP Warriorz in India’s Women’s Premier League, agreed.
“After spending so much of our life travelling and playing cricket, what we noticed when we went to India was we really wanted Australian good wine. We love the culture, we love everything India throws at us, but we miss the little things that remind us of home and wine is one of them,” she said.
“This will be a great launchpad for us in India.”
The wines on show at Surjit’s included a sparkling wine, pinot grigio, rosé, pinot noir and Moscato. House of Arras, who was named Winery of the Year at the 2027 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, produced the sparkling, with other drops by Pete’s Pure Wines, which has won awards at the London Wine Competition and Melbourne Royal Wine Awards. The companies will help Corked Willow develop their understanding and knowledge of the wine industry.
Mitchell Starc said he enjoyed a pinot or shiraz and described Alyssa as “being in her chardonnay era”. The fast bowler also said that during his time in India, he had observed a developing interest in wine.
“The wine culture is growing. The IPL in particular has brought wine in to the fray; I’ve started to see wines from South Africa when I’ve been there. But there’s still only little Australian wines on the shelves.”
Corked Willow understands it will take years to establish a stronger wine culture in India. Its next goals are to continue working with House of Arras and Pete’s Pure to further understand the market. The company doesn’t intend to produce wine as other cricketers have done; instead it hopes to use cricket as a conduit for education, and build on the respect Indian fans have for its founders to develop their understanding of what Australian wine is like.
Though Australian wines are not common in India, with brands like Jacob’s Creek, Yellowtail and Hardys notable exceptions, their presence is improving. In 2025 South Australian winemaker Metala began supplying its wines in Air India’s business class, and 12 Australian winemakers attended ProWine Mumbai, India’s premier wine and alcoholic beverage exhibition, that same year. Indian winemakers have also been keen to break in to Australia, with the Wine Growers Association of India hosting a tasting in Sydney last August.
Through Corked Willow and its famous faces, it is the shared passion of the two nations – cricket – that will help bridge the gap between Australian wine and India.
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