Chikoo wine debuts at Palghar’s Chikoo festival

Given the brand name Fruzantte, the fruit wine began as an experiment by Shrikant Save, a hotelier from Bordi, to boost the declining sales of the fruit in the traditional chikoo-growing belt of Dahanu-Gholvad. With the support of his daughter Priyanka Save, a trained sommelier (wine taster), the family began experimenting with the fruit and began making chikoo wine at home. Soon they roped in Dominic Rivard, a Canadian wine-maker, to prepare a recipe for the wine and imported machinery from Italy for large- scale production.

“Chikoo has all the qualities required for wine — the right acidity, sugar and Ph value. Since the fruit in its original form perishes quickly, we felt making it into wine would be a good way to boost its market value,” said Save.

After almost a five-year struggle for licences, they began production in a small area of Save’s Bordi resort in August last year. By January, they were ready with close to 10,000 bottles of wine.

Cartons of the wine.

Despite being pioneers of this product, the Saves do not plan to patent their fruit drink.

“We want more people to get into this business as it will help us create a market for the product. Chikoo wine will get more popular and have wider distribution only when there are more producers,” explained Nagesh Pai, Save’s son-in-law.

Priced at Rs 255 a bottle, the chikoo wine is a fresh bubbly drink with only eight per cent alcohol content. Presently, it is distributed only in the surrounding areas of Bordi, and a few pubs and hotels in Mumbai.

The wine can be kept for two years. However, if the sap from the fruit remains, its life is reduced drastically. “While wines are known for their longevity, a lot of care is needed for ageing fruit wines. Getting rid of the sap from the chikoo fruit was one of the greatest challenges we had to overcome. If it is not removed properly, the wine gets ruined in six months,” said Vikas Pujari, assistant wine maker in the unit. After the juice is crushed out, the remaining fruit is used as manure in their farms, mixed with cow dung.

Taking the idea of fruit wines further, they plan to begin making wine from other fruits including litchi, mango, black plums and even star fruit by April. They will also experiment with mixing fruits, such as chikoo and grapes, to make new forms of wine.

The Theme: Celebrating entrepreneurship

Key Attractions: Warli Art and handicraft, products such as chikoo pickle, chocolates, chips, bird exhibition, cultural programmes organised by various communities, local food stalls, a chikoo run

When: January 21-22

Where: Bordi village in Palghar district

How to reach: Take an express train to Gholwad station and from there, take an auto to Bordi.