Maharashtra government allows wine shelves in stores, supermarkets

The Maharashtra government on Thursday decided to allow super markets and stores to sell wines in dedicated shelves, a move aimed to encourage group growers and wineries. While supermarkets in the state are already allowed to sell wines, the new decision will also permit stores with size of more than 100 square metres to tie up with wineries and sell their products. 

The supermarket or the store would need to apply for a state excise licence and pay a Rs 5,000 fee. Maharashtra is the largest producer of wines in the country with annual production of 17 million liters. The state consumes 7.5 million litres of wine annually. 

“The idea behind the decision is to give opportunities to small wineries and give better prices for their produce,” said a state government official. 

Nita Kapoor, chief executive of International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), welcomed the “good and progressive move, which will help in building awareness of good quality domestic and imported wines”. 

“This will also provide better accessibility and enable increase the much-needed consumption and further boost the scale for domestic produce,” Kapoor said.