India, June 29 -- Sonal C Holland has shown that it is possible to scale new peaks from humble terroirs. Early in her new memoir, 'One in a Billion: Becoming India's First Master of Wine', she writes that only 512 people have earned the title of Master of Wine (MW) since 1953. Created by the Institute of Masters of Wine, UK, it involves assessment at three stages, including theoretical essays on topics such as viticulture, vinification and pre-bottling procedures, the handling of wine, the business of wine and contemporary issues; three 12-wine blind-tastings; and finally, a 10,000-word research paper.

"More people have scaled Mount Everest," writes Holland. "In 2016, a woman from India achieved this, where the per capita consumption of ...