Renaissance ties up with SA firm for Nashik winery

Indicating a growing co-operation between professional wine makers abroad and the Indian wine industry, Renaissance Winery has tied up with the South Africa-based Lourensford Wines to set up a winery in Nashik.

"South African wineries are known for their proficiency in viticulture and wine making techniques. It is for this particular reason that we have tied up with Lourensford to produce world class wines in the country," said Renaissance Winery managing director Shailendra Pai.

As per the agreement between the two, Lourensford Wines, which is a part of the renowned Christo Wiese Portfolio, would provide techno-commercial inputs to Renaissance, Pai said.

Renaissance Winery, which is located at Ozar near Nashik, will have a capacity of producing five lakh bottles and the company plans to produce five varieties of red, rose and white wines.

"We believe that good wine is made in vineyards and for that we have judiciously selected farms which cultivate good quality of wine variety grapes in terms of soil, water and other conditions and we plan to restrict the yield per acre to ensure quality," Pai said.

The winery has entered into contracts with local grape growers for supply of raw material and has planted 25 acres of vineyards, which it plans to increase to 125 acres in the coming four years.

In an effort to promote the concept of wine drinking, Renaissance also plans to set up a wine lounge "" expected to be operational by April 2005 "" in its vineyard.

"The wine lounge will initially offer select foreign wines to connoisseurs and wine lovers with cuisine that has been carefully designed by expert chefs. We plan to serve our own wines from September 2005 at the lounge," Pai added.

The wine industry in the state is booming with some 430 winery licences being issued in the last three years and about 25 new wineries are either already operating or are in the process of being set up, analysts say.

In the next few years, there would be over 100 wineries of varying sizes operating in the state, which coupled with the virtual elimination of excise duty and sales tax on wines, will reduce prices and spur offtake and growth in this industry, they added.