There were only three stalls by Grover, Kinvah and Naka Wines that made up the mela. There were plenty of freebies and discounts offered by the producers. While Grover offered a free wristwatch with every two bottles of wine, the newer producer Kinvah offered a 20% discount while Naka wines gave away wine openers, Tees and coasters with a purchase. One could also buy coupons worth Rs. 50 that entitled him to 2 glasses of wine.
Organised by the Karnataka Wine Board, the show had its positives-it was government blessed; Horticulture minister Umesh Katti inaugurated the three-day mela (festival) which was nothing but a tamasha (spectacle), with the minister reportedly saying that teenagers would soon get more varieties of wine to choose from. In most parts of the country, the drinking age is 25 years!
"Grape picking is not an easy task," reportedly said Hemachandra Sagar, an MLA from one of the constituencies of Karnataka. If the person picking grapes has fever, it gets transferred to the grape and to the wine. His mantra -Have wine and dine, then life is fine. 30 mL of wine every day is as good as medicine.
Most studies have confirmed that a glass of wine (150mL) or two if drunk regularly helps reduce blood pressure, improve HDL and is good for heart health while more can created havoc with liver problems, blood pressure and various cancers. Women need to restrict the intake to only one glass per day. The standard drink refers to about 12-12.5% alcohol. If there is more alcohol in the wine, the amount of intake needs to be reduced accordingly.
The mood was more of bonhomie and curiosity than serious tastings. Sagar declared that the state’s goal was to ‘overtake Maharashtra and even the world in wine production. Maharashtra growers have 68 vineries and Bangalore has only 9. In two to three years, we will overtake them,’ he claimed.
There were few who believed in his tall claims but it was heartening to know that the government has been involved to promote the wine production and consumption in the state and appears to be serious about popularising it as a health drink
Declares the Karnataka Wine Board, ‘By providing a congenial atmosphere to the wine industry, giving up the thinking that wine is an alcoholic beverage and simplifying the taxation system, it is possible to boost the production and consumption of wines.’
The posters designed for the festival read, ‘Myth- Wine is alcoholic; Reality- Wine is non-alcoholic. Wine has very little percentage of alcohol’.
While no one would seriously agree with the slogan, it comes very close to the slogan devised by the Indian Wine Academy: Wine is not alcohol-it has some. It is true that there is an alcoholic content of 9-14%, wine is but a naturally fermented juice- the yeast that is found on the skin of the grapes can ferment and convert it into wine. Non-alcoholic wine can also be made by removing the alcohol through reverse osmosis. Zero alcohol wine is known to be produced in several countries, particularly in the USA and recently Torres in Spain has made it for the UK market and more such projects are on the anvil.
To make wine available easily, the license fee for producing wine has been reduced from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5,000 in the latest wine policy based on the recommendations of the Karnataka Wine Board which has also mooted the concept of taverns and wine boutiques, for which the license costs are only Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 resp.
The figures appear too good to be true. Those in the trade claim the total amount spent works out to be up to Rs 100,000 if one considers the speed money required.
While it is commendable that the Karnataka government has taken the initiative to popularize wine as a health drink and there is no doubt that with the soil and climate of Karnataka, it has the potential of being an important state for wine production that can add to the economy and welfare of the farmers, it is equally disappointing that the Mela was restricted only to the Karnataka wineries.
When Karnataka announced its policy of charging Rs. 300/liter for out of state wines (read Maharashtra), delWine had been a strong supporter. The Maharashtra’s policy of charging the extra duties on out-of-state wines is not in the national interest and we strongly decry it. But not allowing the out-of-state wineries to participate in the show is equally anti-national. As written earlier, wines from all over India should have been welcome-if not the imported ones. This would give an opportunity to the visitors to taste different varieties and the knowledge gained could have been a lot more.
Empty slogans like crossing the production of Maharashtra, or even the world, is equivalent to a Maharashtra producer who claimed that his wines compare with the rest of the world in quality. It is time one got out of the well and take a look at the outside world. There is plenty of action, excitement and opportunities for those who mean serious business.
It is good to start with Melas and then move to Fests, Festivals and even wine Fairs. But a wine tamasha may not take us far, accept 3 days of amusement. |