Traditionally, wines were made from grapes but now wine manufacturers in India are producing wines from fruits and flowers like litchi, mango and rose to attract consumers
ruits and flowers like litchi, mango, rose are being used by wine manufacturers in India to produce flavoured alcohol to attract the new generation of wine drinkers. Experts, however, believe that this experiment will not work as consumers prefer the traditional grape wines.
M.K. Rustagi, joint managing director, Nirvana Biosys, who initiated the concept of fruit wines in India, said, "Wine is unfortunately considered as liquor, but it is not. The alcohol content in wine is extremely low and it is a social drink. Besides, it has health benefits because of its anti-oxidant properties. It helps in reducing heart risks and minimising blood clots, fights obesity, is good for gums and reduces, if one glass of wine is taken per day. Unfortunately, Indians are not really aware of these benefits."
On the other hand, Sonal Holland, India's premier wine consultant and advisor, doesn't believe that this segment has potential. "Only wines made from grapes can be legally termed as 'wine' in the EU. Wine made from any other product like apples, litchi and mango must be termed as 'apple wine or mango wine or litchi wine'. I don't believe the market for such ancillary products will be huge anywhere in the near future. Regarding health benefits, there has been a lot of contradicting reports dismissing the overplayed role of wine as a health drink," said Sonal.
Cecilia Oldne, head, international business, Sommelier, prefers traditional grape wines to fruit wines. "In Asian countries, especially China, fruit wines is a big hit, but I personally feel that it is not the traditional form of wine. These are two different products. Best wines are made out of vitis vinifiera which offers significant protection against certain types of cancer, arthiritis, cataracts etc."
The wine industry in India is experiencing a rapid growth phase. According to an industry report, the current size of the total wine market in India stands at 1.2 million cases. The industry is growing at the rate of 25–30% per annum.
"It is not a very romantic figure considering the per capita consumption is only nine millimetres per person per annum. In China, it is four litres per person per annum and America it is nine per person per annum. But, India has a huge growth potential," added Rustagi.
6 February 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.
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