Meghalaya fruit wine makers hope state take cue from Mizoram

Wine makers of Meghalaya were of the view that the state government should take a cue from Mizoram and legalise fruit wines for job creation and promote tourism through fruit wine making.
"Meghalaya government should learn something good from Mizoram, a dry state, where it has amended the Excise Act twice to legalise production of fruit wines," fruit wine enthusiast Michael Syiem told PTI.
Syiem, also president of the Meghalaya Association of Wine Makers, has been hosting the 12th Shillong Wine Festival where wine connoisseurs from across the world assembled to raise a toast to friendship and the chilly winter winds.

"I'm confident that in the years to come the government will realise the importance of legalising fruit wine making in the perspective of a job opportunity for the youth and also in promoting tourism," Syiem said.
Among the fruit wines on display are made of ginger, mulberry, strawberry, passion fruit, blackberry, plum, banana, jackfruit, roselle, or even cashew apple.
Syiem said a lot of indigenous fruits have been successfully tested for production of good wines and these could be promoted and made famous as 'fenny' in Goa.

These fruits are processed to produce a sensual variety of wines which are indigenous and of high quality.

"The ginger wine we make is soothing to a sore throat and is appropriate for the cold climate here especially with the advent of winter," said Angel Marbaniang, who has been fermenting wine in the backyard of her house in the city.
Brewers like Angel make wine as a hobby and not for commercial purposes even as few of them are producing 1,000 plus bottles which are distributed among friends circle.
Chungte, secretary of Wine Makers Association in Mizoram's Champhai district, said his government earns over Rs 1.5 crore as revenue annually from fruit wines.
While Meghalaya has hosted wine festival since 2002, Mizoram amended their Excise Act in 2005 and allowed wine production from grapes and again in 2012 where it legalised wine making from all fruits.

A wine festival is aimed at creating awareness not only on the art of wine making but also to show its potential as an industry, Syiem said.