The Learning Experience: What went wrong in Baramati

It was at this juncture that National Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar stepped in with plans of India’s first winery. Pawar had a vested interest in the grape-growers’ survival — Baramati was his constituency — but the winery hasn’t really proved to be a saviour for the locals.

Talking to The Sunday Express? from New York, Pawar says, ‘‘The fluctuations in the international market of grapes began to frustrate the grape growers around the mid-’70s. While farmers in Chile and Brazil got lots of concessions, India never got any. Because of the enterprise and enthusiasm of the young farmers in Baramati, we decided to set up a winery in Baramati.’’

The Baramati Agro Industries’ Bosca and Cinzana wines, manufactured with expertise from an Italian wine-maker, flooded the market. Aimed at the common man, they were nominally priced. But the timing was all wrong, and the marketing hype and hoopla associated with wineries today was completely missing.’’

‘‘For the first 10 years, there was no demand for the wines,’’ admits Pawar. ‘‘Except for embassies and five-star hotels, no one went in for our product, dismissing it as something that barely provided a ‘kick’.’’

But in the meantime, 700 marginal farmers in Baramati had switched over from table grapes to the Bangalore Purple. On the advice of Vitthal Mallya, who suggested they switch to hard liquor items for sustainability, Pawar’s unit began producing grape spirit from the Bangalore Purple, which was a raw material for brandy and pharma companies. ‘‘This helped the small farmers earn between Rs 75,000-1,00,000 per year per acre,’’ says Pawar.

While talks are on with a South African wine company for the manufacture of sophisticated wines, grape growers in Baramati now cater to wineries in Nashik, Narayangaon, Pandharpur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kolkata, Hyderabad, besides their very own Baramati. Business is good with an almost 400 per cent jump in the acres under wine grape cultivation.

‘‘Today about 400-500 acres in Baramati produce the Bangalore Purple. Thirty years ago, this would have been barely 100 acres,’’ says Rajendra Pawar, director, Baramati Agro Industries.