Hand-crafted wines from a variety of fruit sources, including grapes
Alok Chandra walks us through the craft wines of India...
Himachal Pradesh
Fruit wines have also been available in Himachal Pradesh for a number of
years, where local rules allow for easy licensing, and any retailer can
sell the locally-produced wines with low one-time duty and no further
involvement of the state excise machinery. What used to be Sutter Home
is now sold under the “Waterfall Wines” label. At Rs 150-250/bottle,
peach, pear, plum, strawberry and rhododendron are some of the more
popular varieties.
Mizoram
In Shillong, where a ‘Wine Festival’ has been organised every
October/November by Michael Syiem of the Forever Young Club for the past
seven years. By all accounts this is a delightful affair, set around a
pool, with gaily-coloured stalls dishing out wines made from pineapple,
cherries, passion fruit, flowers, and a little-known local plum called
‘Sohiyong’.
Bangalore, Karnataka
In Bangalore, such (Port-style wines from table grapes or raisins) wines were even sold in selected retail stores (at Rs
50-100 per bottle) right up to the mid-1990s, until some excise
official decided to declare this practice illegal. Now, with the easy
availability of “Wine Boutique” and wine production licences in
Karnataka, perhaps some home wine-makers may venture forth once again.
Goa
Of course, it was in Goa that Port-style wines were first produced.
While most of the brands now available are “ad-mix” wines
(slightly-fermented grape juice, with spirit, colour, sugar and flavour
added to taste), a few stalwarts still produce their wines in the old
style. Foremost in this area are Vinicola (whose winery is behind
octogenarian Dr D’Costa’s beautiful 100 year-old bungalow) and Madame
Rosa (from the Vaz family, better known for their spirits, packed in
bottles shaped like violins and oak casks). Unfortunately, due to high
inter-state taxes, few Goan wines are available outside any more.
Govt. takes interest in craft wines
However, the ministry of food processing industries (under whom wines
come), together with industry associations, is looking to rationalise
inter-state tariff barriers to wines, on the grounds that the product is
not injurious to health, and as such must be treated differently from
spirits.
More: Business Standard