Seagram to crush grapes of its own

Conservative estimates indicate that Seagram will start by producing one lakh litres of wine and eventually hit the five lakh target, making it the biggest player in the market.

At present, 35 wineries in Maharashtra produce about 54 lakh litres of wine annually. According to Maharashtra Industrial Development Corp’s (MIDC) technical advisor on wines, Dr Jaideep Kale, India imports over six lakh litres of wine annually and has started exporting one lakh. MIDC estimates that in the next five years, Indian wines will compete in the international market.

“We are in the process of acquiring necessary approvals and setting up the appropriate protocols,” confirmed Mohan Shukla, spokesperson for Seagram. “We are initially looking at meeting the domestic market’s needs and later we would consider the possibility of exports.”

Excise Superintendent M.R. Gosavi has already issued a letter of intent to Seagrams and given them the go ahead. Since the company cannot buy large tracts of agricultural land, it is looking at “various options of purchasing grapes from local farmers”.

Seagram is initially looking at the home front, which has established brands like Sula and Champagne Indage. “Later, we would consider the possibility of exports,” Shukla adds.

The Maharashtra government has declared wine-making business as a small-scale industry. Pune, Sangli and Nashik districts are major grape cultivation regions of the state. The area under grape cultivation is about 40,000 hectares producing about ten lakh tonnes of grapes per year in the state. Of this, 1,500 acres produce grapes for wine production.

Further, the state government has exempted wine manufacturers from excise duty for 10 years to promote the industry. On its part, to help the grape-growing belt of Nashik, the MIDC has decided to provide a centralised processing facility for new wineries at the “Godavari Winepark” located in Vinchur.