Can India produce noteworthy wine? It seems so

Posted by Anita Froneman on 14 December 2022

Any South African will tell you the best wine in the world is made right here in the Western Cape. Other regions that come to mind are Napa Valley in the US, large parts of France and Mendoza in Argentina. India though? Sign me up for that food scene. Tea, of course. But fine wine is not exactly one’s first thought.

wine

Picture: Unsplash

The country has been producing wine for a number of years, actually, and people are starting to take notice. In recent years, a few wineries have sprung up despite alcohol bans in some states.

The states of Maharashtra and Karnataka are the primary producers of wine in India where the climate is tropical with very wet, humid summers and dry winters. This leads to an interesting phenomenon: some wine farms actually grow their grapes in winter and harvest them before summer comes. In South Africa, the harvest season is January and February – the height of summer. But harvesting in winter seems to work for India. Some wine farms use refrigerated stainless steel barrels for storage, reports the BBC.

The city of Nashik in Maharashtra is regarded as the wine capital of India and it’s an easy three-hour drive from Mumbai. The variety on offer at various wineries will surprise most visitors (and probably even locals, who are not likely to knock their doors down to do tastings). Sula Vineyards is one of the biggest producers and sells 34 different wines from 14 different grape varietals, reports the New York Times.

Wine sales are not exactly booming just yet but the passion is there.

Nashik wine

A vineyard in Nashik. Picture: Marco Zanferrari/Flickr Commons

Tides are changing and producers are positive that there is a future for wine farms in India. ‘With an increasingly urban population, wine consumption is becoming a part of the cultural zeitgeist and with good quality Indian wines on the offering, there is a very good chance for India to make a mark on the world wine map,’ Jayanth Bharathi Fratelli Wines tells the BBC.

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