The craft of making wines

Worldwide there are a significant (though declining) number of people who hand-craft wines from a variety of fruit sources, including grapes. While the wines so made are not necessarily only for home consumption, they are best understood as ‘Craft Wines’.

In India this is best exemplified 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’.

I tasted some of the wines recently at a seminar organised by the Indian Grape Processing Board and NERAMAC on “Commercialisation of Fruit Wine”. While the quality of most wines has a long way to go, the stuff made by Archie’s and Lulu showed promise. What is interesting is that the authorities are moving to legitimise what is at present only a home-grown passion.

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.

Then there is the long-standing tradition among many Christian communities of making Port-style wines during Christmas from table grapes or raisins. The wines are normally strong and sweet, and not meant for long storage. In Bangalore, such 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.

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.

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.

So don’t be surprised if some Indian fruit wines hit retail shelves in you city sometime in the future.

Wines I’ve been drinking:
A delightful Sula Rasa Shiraz Reserve 2007, opened in Shillong at the Pine Wood hotel. Complex, full-bodied, with fine-grained tannins and a long finish, the wine should keep well for at least another five years. I reviewed the wine last May, and the development is significant. Enjoy — it’s a steal at Rs 1,080 per bottle.

The author is a Bangalore-based wine consultant