High quality kiwi wine in Arunachal soon

Wine lovers in Arunachal Pradesh can look forward to enjoying high quality country-made kiwi wine soon.
Pune-based Hill Crest Foods & Beverages Pvt Ltd on December 13, last year had inked an MoU with the Arunachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing & Processing Board (APHPM&PB) for producing kiwi wine.
After introducing the country to the concept of fruit wines like pineapple and strawberry, Pune-based Rhythm Winery, a part of Hill Crest Foods and Beverages, is all set to launch its first kiwi wine.
The company is sourcing over 2.5 tonnes of kiwi fruits from Arunachal Pradesh for brewing the wine. Arunachal Pradesh produces more than 4,500 tonnes of kiwi fruits every year.

"The soil and climatic condition of the state are suitable for kiwi fruits cultivation and out of 18 lakh hectares area for horticultural crops, three lakh hectares are estimated to be suitable for kiwi cultivation in the state," APHPM&PB managing director Tage Tatung disclosed.
As per data for the year 2011-12, the area under kiwi cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh was only 3,027 hectares with a production of 4,541 metric tonnes.

According to the MoU, the revenues from this business will go to the APHPM&PB while Rhythm Winery is only a service provider working on project basis.
"We will finance the full cost of the project amounting to Rs 18,84,000 as per project proposal submitted by Hill Crest," Tatung said.

"The Board;s main objective is to promote and add value to the kiwi production which will help the fruits production in Arunachal Pradesh offering new avenues to growers," Board deputy manager R Sindhu said.
He said that around 70 per cent of kiwi fruit is not utilised properly in the state and goes waste.
"The first batch of 3,000 litres of kiwi wine is likely to hit the market later this month," state Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi said.
Negi said the kiwis produced in the state were of the same grade as New Zealand kiwis and only the inferior quality would be used for making wine. The best qualities would be used for consumption and making juices.