History of wine making in India
Though it is said that wine is being produced in India for as many as 5000 years, the first ever organised wine manufacturing unit in India was the Champagne Indag’s plant set up in 1984 in Maharashtra. The company has the capacity to produce three million bottles annually. The plant pioneered in making French style wines for the first time in the country. The Nasik district of Maharashtra is known as the ‘Wine Capital of India’ with numerous manufacturing units located in the state. Other than Maharashtra which has a total of 36 wineries throughout the state, wine making is also abundant in the states of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh where the respective state governments have considered reducing excise duties on manufacturing to encourage wine making in the state.
Favourable conditions
Other favourable factors like suitable soil and climatic conditions have given wine making industry an approving boost. Abhay Kewadkar, chief winemaker and business head – Wines, The UB Group echoes similar sentiments saying, “India matches international standards for quality wines. Our viticulture, which is an integral part of wine quality, is most suited to quality grapes. Grape grows under varied climatic conditions that mainly comprises of three distinct agro-climatic zones - sub-tropical, hot tropical and mild tropical climatic regions in India and produces different types of wine.”
The process, brands and the variants
Manufacturing of wine involves the basic steps of crushing the grapes, alcoholic fermentation, bulk storage, subsequent maturing of the wine and finally the process of clarification and packaging. Red Wine, White Wine, Sparkling Wine, Cashew Wine and Fortified Mixed Fruit Wine are the basic varieties of wine produced in the country.
Today a few leading Indian wine brands like Tiger Hill, Chantilli, Indage Reserve and Riviera have gained widespread popularity even among international consumers. Mumbai based entrepreneur and wine connoisseur Shilpa Chatterjee says, “I love the Sula wines. My favourite is Sula rose which is a pink coloured wine. I think Indian wines today are of the same standard as the international wines and Indians are gradually bringing wines into the drinking culture.”
Challenges
However, like most other manufacturing trades, wine making industries too faces severe challenges everyday. Problems of poor storage, dreadful transportation facilities, lack of proper promotional activities and an underdeveloped domestic market has posed as hindrances in the way of development of the wine industry in India. Nevertheless, some experts believe that India has the potential to become a leading wine producing country in the days to come.
Tias Chakraborty |
It is a common saying that making good 
