{"id":15689,"date":"2024-08-31T17:41:56","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T12:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/?p=15689"},"modified":"2024-08-31T21:24:26","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T15:54:26","slug":"item_2_954","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/item_2_954\/","title":{"rendered":"Hill Zill: Maharashtra Policy killing nascent Fruit Wine Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"15689\" class=\"elementor elementor-15689\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4720b6a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4720b6a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-53f09f7\" data-id=\"53f09f7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70aab53 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"70aab53\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Posted: Saturday, 31 August 2024 18:17<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ad9e937\" data-id=\"ad9e937\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-cccb2a7\" data-id=\"cccb2a7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9669605 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9669605\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b62f3ec\" data-id=\"b62f3ec\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c0e78f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c0e78f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-sm-12\"><h1 class=\"articlepagetitle_heading\"><span style=\"color: #990000;\">Hill Zill:<\/span> Maharashtra Policy killing nascent Fruit Wine &amp; Mead Industry<\/h1><div class=\"articlepageintroline\">August 31, 2024: Maharashtra has been one of the most progressive Indian States for promoting wine industry but seems to be hell bent to destroy the nascent fruit wine industry, with the leading producer Hill Zill Winery having shut shop and Moonshine Meadery having few chances of survival, writes Subhash Arora who finds it unfortunate because this segment is equally important from national perspective as thousands of tons of fruit are still being wasted and it is a provider of employment to farm workers pan India-beyond Maharashtra<\/div><div class=\"articledata\"><figure id=\"attachment_lft\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-lft\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15691\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 1px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-300x101.png\" alt=\"Nitin Vishwas and Priyanka Save in TV Discussion On Awaaz Entrepreneur Channel\" width=\"400\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-1024x346.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-768x259.png 768w, https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_.png 1084w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-lft\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nitin Vishwas and Priyanka Save in TV Discussion On Awaaz Entrepreneur Channel<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Hill Zill Winery, founded in Bordi by <strong>Priyanka Save<\/strong> and her husband <strong>Nagesh Pai<\/strong> about a decade ago after they finished college in the US, has been a leading producer of fruit wines and a source of inspiration for many new entrepreneurs making fruit wines and meads (wine made by fermentation of honey) in the Northeast, UP, Andhra, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh where they has already set up a unit in partnership, and Meghalaya where they are Fruit Wine Brand Ambassador &amp; Technical Advisor for the state.<\/p><p>They shut shop on 1st March 2024 a couple of days after Maharashtra announced policy revival for grape wine producers only, not only paying the producers the backlog of VAT reimbursement of 3 years but also further continuing the reimbursement scheme of VAT for another 5 years. This spelt death knell for non-grape (fruit wine &amp; mead) Industry which cannot compete with the unfair advantage of 80% VAT refund given to their counterparts in grape wine industry. This scheme was initiated in 2009 &#8211; ostensibly to pass on the benefit to the consumers but the industry pleaded then with the government that since they were losing money, this refund would help them put the money back in operations for the purpose of promotion.<\/p><p><strong>Also Read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/item_1_936\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #990000;\">Priyanka Save of Hill Zill appointed Fruit Wine Ambassador of Meghalaya<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p><p>No such benefit was given to the fruit wine or mead industry which was relatively new and had been paying full excise duty of 100% of the manufacturing cost till 2019. With due representation, the excise duty was reduced to Re.1 per liter while the grape wine had been not paying any excise duties for sale within Maharashtra. But lightning struck them when the excise duties were uniformly added at Rs. 10\/Liter- both on grape wine and now also on fruit wine in 2020.<\/p><p>\u2019This makes the production totally unviable because essentially we have to operate within the same market\u2019, says Priyanka who had to lay off the whole staff of 40 persons.\u2019 The promotion schemes given to retailers were not possible for us as we now have to pay from our pocket on every bottle we sell,\u2019 she adds.<\/p><p><strong>Also Read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/item_4_915\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #990000;\">DelWine Top Ten Indian Women of Wine (WOW) 2021 Award announced <\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p><p>Talking this morning to a TV Channel Awaaz Entrepreneur owned by CNBC where Priyanka Save and <b>Nitin Vishwas<\/b>, co-founder of Moonshine Meads were invited, this closure emphasises the severe impact of government policies on the non-grape wine industry, including fruit wines and honey meads.<\/p><p><strong>Priyanka Save,<\/strong> the exasperated Co-founder of Hill Zill Wines says, \u201cAfter years of hard work, it is devastating to see businesses collapse due to policies that favour only the grape wine industry while completely ignoring the potential and contribution of fruit wines and honey meads. We have no choice but to explore opportunities in states like Karnataka that offer a level field for wines from all fruits including grapes that support innovation and diversity in wine production.\u201d<\/p><p><strong>Also Read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/item_3_862.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #990000;\">FRUZZANTE marches on with New Fruit Wine Labels and Investment <\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p><p>Why not approach through your industry Association, I ask. \u2018We approached the government through All India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA), urging the Maharashtra government to form policies that are equally supportive of all wine industry segments. But with most of the producers being grape wine producers from Nashik, I am afraid the efforts could not be fruitful,\u2019 she opines.<\/p><p>Reportedly, a PIL has also been also filed to this effect but even the favourable decision may not get the winery and the jobs back to those who have been fired. But Priyanka has been in a great demand as a consultant as well as a promoter nationally. She has decided for now to support the fruit wine producers in other parts of India and promote their wine production with the expertise she has developed over the years with her husband Nagesh.<\/p><p><strong>Also Read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/item_5_833.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #990000;\">Commendable Fruit Wine Conference in Maharashtra <\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p><p>In the long run, it will be the State of Maharashtra that would be the loser, and thousands of farm workers that would have been possibly absorbed by its expanding fruit wine industry. Priyanka claims that in the 2019-2024 period, there has been a growth of 300% of this industry, much more than the grape wine industry, both working under similar situations.<\/p><p><a style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CiAdhBwxywc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span style=\"color: #990000;\">Interaction on TV with Awaaz Entrepreneur on YouTube-Courtesy CNBC<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/p><p><strong>Subhash Arora<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"gmail-has-medium-font-size\">\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Posted: Saturday, 31 August 2024 18:17 Hill Zill: Maharashtra Policy killing nascent Fruit Wine &amp; Mead Industry August<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,82],"tags":[669,356,668],"class_list":["post-15689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-headline","category-other-headlines","tag-fruit-wine-industry","tag-hill-zill","tag-maharashtra-policy"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_.png",1084,366,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-300x101.png",300,101,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-768x259.png",640,216,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-1024x346.png",640,216,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_.png",1084,366,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_.png",1084,366,false],"slider-bg":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_.png",1084,366,false],"card-grid":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-600x366.png",600,366,true],"card-list":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-600x366.png",600,366,true],"morenews-featured":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-1024x346.png",1024,346,true],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-825x366.png",825,366,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/tv-discussion.fw_-590x366.png",590,366,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/author\/admin\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/category\/top-headline\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Top Headline<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/category\/other-headlines\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Other Headlines<\/a>","tag_info":"Other Headlines","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15689"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15745,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15689\/revisions\/15745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianwineacademy.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}