Maratha’s Vineyard

Organised by the Maharashtra Industrial and Technological Consultancy Organisation (MITCON) in collaboration with the Science and Technology department of the Government of India, the occasion offers these farmers from the backyards of Maharashtra the first opportunity to taste this ‘‘new drink’’.

Bhaskar Dhondiba Aher, a marginal farmer, takes his first sips, rolls his tongue, and pauses. Smacking his lips, he says, ‘‘It is a bit bitter, so different from the hard drinks.’’

Would he contemplate switching to wine? The answer is candid: ‘‘Depends on how much kick I get from it.’’

The comparison with hard liquor is almost inevitable in the rural areas; it is the only yardstick they have to measure something novel. ‘‘When you take the glass to the nose, it smells like liquor, but once you gulp it down, the smell just vanishes,’’ concludes Shantaram Shelke.

Without going into the niceties, Dattatreya Waman Shelke says, ‘‘It is sour and it’s sweet as well.’’

That short sentence could well sum up the status of the wine industry in Maharashtra today. The success of the two premier wineries — Chateau Indage in Narayangaon and Sula Vineyards in Nashik — has led the Maharashtra government to offer sops to potential agro-entrepreneurs, grant small scale industry status to the wine industry, slash excise duty from 100 per cent to 50 (for existing wineries) and 25 (for new establishments) per cent, and set up two wineparks, at Palus and Vinchur (see related story).

Just how keen the state government is to push the wine industry can be gauged from the fact that wine-making is one of the 30 self-employment options offered by entrepreneur-encourager MITCON to the unemployed youth of the state.

But the enthusiasm is yet to percolate down to ground level and to the farmers. ‘‘Tastes have changed and most wine-consumers are looking at Italian or French flavours,’’ says Sharad Pawar, former chief minister and godfather of the wine industry in Maharashtra. Pawar should know: His Baramati Agro Industries’ first brands — the modestly priced Bosca and Cinzana — have no takers now after an initial blush of popularity (see related story).

While Pawar is working on a tie-up with a South African winery to produce more sophisticated wines, the crux for him — as for other Maharashtra wineries — lies in the local production of foreign varieties of grapes.

‘‘Unless they are assured of proper returns, farmers will not grow unfamiliar varieties,’’ he warns. ‘‘After all, most of them are small-time farmers.’’

In Baramati, though, Pawar has had some success in convincing farmers across 48 acres to abandon the Bangalore Purple for the Cabernet Sauvignon, a French variety. It’s not a risk-free gamble. Farmers are unanimous that growing the foreign wine grape in Indian conditions calls for 20 per cent more investment than the local variety.

Plus, two-three years have to elapse before the fruit reaches a standard good enough to be pressed and made into wine. And production volumes have to be nearly half the quantum of the Bangalore Purple to maintain quality.

‘‘But someone’s got to take that first step,’’ says Raosaheb Zargad, who has turned over an acre of his land to Cabernet. ‘‘As a farmer it makes a lot of sense to tap into an emerging demand. I had to invest Rs 1.5 lakh into the new variety, but the Bangalore Purple sells for Rs 10/kg, and the Cabernet for Rs 24-30/kg.’’

Jnandeo Lonkar, a farmer with 2.5 acres under the Cabernet, acknowledges that the high-stakes gamble could go wrong. But despite being wholly dependent on his farm income, the 42-year old still feels he has made a good decision. ‘‘There are still just a handful of suppliers and it will be another five-six years before the trend catches on. By then, I would have recouped the investment.’’

BUT Baramati Agro Industries director Rajendra Pawar prefers to downplay the excitement. ‘‘Does a wine culture really exist in India? People drink here to get drunk, and wine is still not regarded as a drink for men, who are the higher consumers of alcohol,’’ he says. ‘‘The Indian market is still in its infancy. The few Indians who do drink wine are still enamoured of foreign brands. For Indian wine brands to break through — in India, and particularly abroad — will take another 10-15 years.’’

The beginning, though, has been made and Shyamrao Choughule, chairman of Chateau Indage, and Rajeev Samant, MD, Sula Vineyards, feel the sky is now the limit.

In the past couple of years, they say, domestic consumption has increased by leaps and bounds, so much so that whatever they produce finds an almost instant market. ‘‘Indians have been relishing Indian wines even though there is no import restrictions on wine,’’ says Samant.

Choughule is now looking to open his first wine bar against the backdrop of his sprawling vineyards at Narayangaon, on the busy Pune-Nashik highway. The first of its kind in the country, it aims to familiarise the public with wine.

‘‘Finally, the government has realised that if the wine industry has to come up, the product must be made accessible to the common man. He must taste it and then come to his own decision. Wine bars will help in the process,’’ says the man who created the sparkling wine scene in India in 1992 with the launch of Marquise de Pompadour.

Chateau Indage owns the largest vineyards in the country, spread over 650 hectares in Narayangaon, Manjarwadi and Bota. ‘‘Besides, we have 800 farmers on contract, who get stabilised yearly returns of Rs 70,000-80,000/acre,’’ says a proud Choughule. The reason: The demand for wine has gone up drastically.

‘‘I can sell all three million litres I produce annually without a single marketing executive either in the domestic market, or in the international market, where the demand for Indian wines is very high,’’ says Choughule.

‘‘My profits are like one cent and one dollar respectively for domestic and international sales. But I have to maintain a balance: Although the domestic demand has increased tremendously, I cannot afford to neglect the European market.’’

Infotech professional-turned-winemaker Rajeev Samant’s sales have gone up from non-existent to five lakh bottles a year. ‘‘Wine consumption is growing at the rate of 20 per cent per year and our production has registered 100 per cent growth annually. Mumbai continues to be the biggest market followed by Delhi, Bangalore, Goa, Kolkata, Pune and Rajasthan,’’ he says.

Within the next 12 years, Samant predicts, at least 20,000 acres will go under wine grape cultivation in Maharashtra, and exports will rise 50 per cent annually over the next five years. ‘‘Interest in Indian wines is growing abroad,’’ he acknowledges, ‘‘but quality has to keep improving.’’

As for domestic demand, there is no doubt that the only way to go is up. ‘‘The per capita consumption in India is barely 10 ml a year, a mere spoonful,’’ points out Choughule.

Compare it with France (59 litres), Italy (61 litres) or even China (1.5 litres), and the future, promise the two doyens of Indian wine, is bright for wine grape farmers.

TO that end, Chateau Indage has tied up with the Himachal Pradesh government to set up two wineries in the hill state. ‘‘It’s a Rs 30 crore project, still in the planning stage, but we are looking to produce five million litres annually,’’ says Choughule.

At the ground level, the success of Choughule and Samant has inspired several small-time winemakers. Madhavrao More, the owner of V M Agrosoft Wines at Pimpalgaon Baswant in Nashik district, firmly believes that there will be 10,000 wineries employing ten lakh people in Maharashtra alone.

‘‘But farmers, especially the younger generation, need to keep an eye on the international market and till their farms accordingly,’’ he says. ‘‘Otherwise we will be wiped off by the WTO rules.’’

Prahlad Khadangale, hailing from a family of grape cultivators in Rui village in Nashik district, started experimenting with local varieties of grapes in wine-making in 1997 following an inspiring trip to France. But the results were less than satisfactory.

Unfazed, Khadangale imported certain varieties of grapes from renowned centres all over the world, and eventually selected Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel, Symphony (all from California), Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon (from France) and Shiraz (from Australia) to cultivate in the 25 acres of his ancestral land. Today, he is a steady supplier for big-league wine makers, including Samant’s Sula.

Khadangale also sells wine under his own brand name. Last year, he produced 30,000 litres of wine; this year, the target is 1.25 lakh litres. With the intention of exporting some part of his produce, he employed a Californian expert for professional guidance during the crushing season.

Foreign consultants don’t come cheap — each charges between $ 5000 and $ 8000 per month, besides perks like travel, accommodation and holidays — but they are a necessity. ‘‘If we have to build up our reputation in the international market, quality is of utmost importance. Just increasing the quantum of production won’t do,’’ points out Samant.

If quality is the one god all Indian winemakers worship it is because local produce can’t expect to make low prices its trump card. Choughule explains why: ‘‘In Europe, plants sleep between October and April, which means no expenses are incurred on water or pesticide for almost half the year. Here, we need to prune them twice — once in April and again in October — which translates into expensive irrigation throughout the year. So Indian wines can never be cheap.’’

With his eye firmly on the international market, Choughule is now venturing into bio-friendly wines. ‘‘Our biotech lab will be ready in a couple of weeks and we will take the European market by storm.’’

Balancing the euphoria of Choughule and Samant are the likes of Rajendra Pawar. Focusing on the farmers, who have the most to lose should the wine bubble burst unceremoniously, he says unless the fruits match international quality, costs come down and the processing, marketing and promotional processes improve, the spiel may lose steam.

‘‘In Italy and France, wine-making is a traditional family occupation. Family names are brands by themselves over there. Even if they decide to enter the Indian market, they’ll probably only set up bottling plants. So where does that leave our farmers who are in a hurry to make big money?’’ Rajendra Pawar makes his point.

In the fields, some of the same caution governs the farmers. Should they, shouldn’t they? The chance of a big profit is offset by an equally large risk. For the moment, the bubble only seems to be expanding in size, but will it be able to contain all their dreams? In a perfect world, of course, the answer would be available in a glass of rose.

With Rakshit Sonawane, Radhesyam Jadhav and Aparna Chandra