The current wine-making season in Maharashtra has done little to boost the sagging spirits of wine producers in the state. A whopping 30 million litre of unsold wine is bound to leave them high and dry, forcing them to significantly reduce crushing targets for the next season. Winemakers say even if they manage to sell half of this in the coming season, there?s not much they can do with the rest, considering that the government has been pussy-footing a policy suggestion that would enable distillation of the surplus grapes and excess wine into brandy.
With the new season beginning December, over 9,000 acre of wine grapes have already been planted. This means around 45,000 tonne grapes would be available for crushing next season. However, the current surplus would ensure that less than half of this, i.e. 20,000 tonne, is crushed, resulting in another excess.
The issue of surplus wine compelled the All India Wine Producers Association to bring wine manufacturers in the state together to form wine clusters and distill the surplus grapes and excess wine into brandy on a pilot basis. Three clusters have been planned in Nashik, Pune and Sangli.
The association has been demanding a permanent ?pot still distillation policy? for surplus grapes and to liquidate excess wine stock. However, the government is yet to respond to their demands, says Jagdhish Holkar, president, All India Wine Producers Association. ?The definition of brandy needs to be defined in the way it is defined globally. Globally, brandy is defined as the ?end product which is 100% from wine spirit, produced by ?pot still distillation method?. However, in India, this is done from molasses, which is not grape spirit,? explains Holkar.
At a recent meeting held between the association and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, state finance minister Sunil Tatkare and state excise minister Ganesh Naik, the Maharashtra government agreed to issue three licences in Nashik, Pune and Sangli regions and have agreed to think on such a policy after gauging the response to these clusters, adds Holkar. Around 32 wineries are part of the Nashik cluster that had been planned with an investment of Rs 25 crore. The Centre would put in 70% of the funds while 10% would come from the state government with wineries putting in the rest.
The remaining two clusters are expected to come up in the next one and half years.