With the first Made-in-UP wine expected to be launched during the next few days, as the excise department has given a go-ahead to the Muzaffarnagar-based winery to start commercial operations of the winery, the owner is getting ready to register the labels with the department soon.

The winery was expected to start production in February this year but the usual bureaucratic procedures perhaps caused the delay but Guptas expect to catch the wine season which has just begun, in time. Gupta had already announced his plans to promote wine tourism by organizing experiential tours at his Resort adjoining the winery which is on the Delhi-Dehradun national highway in Muzaffarnagar.

Also Read : UP to become next Wine Producing Indian State

Gupta, who already owns KD Green Solution Pvt Ltd. in Muzaffarnagar, plans to start with guava-based wines first and will source locally grown fruits. Two sizes of 750-ml (standard bottle for wine) and 330-ml (popular bottle size for beer) is expected to hit the retail stores before Diwali. Later, five more fruits- mango, strawberry, blueberry (surely not easy/viable initially!!), peach and lychee will be used to produce wine, depending on the demand.

In a telephonic conversation with Subhash Arora, editor of delWine, Sanjay Guptasays, ‘I have been so touched by the alacrity shown by the Chief Minister Shri Adityanath Yogi in this matter. I have been also deeply impressed by the District Collector, Mr. Aravind Mallappa Bangari who cleared my file for the License in 15 minutes when it can take months before the file finds the wheels to make it move. I am also grateful to theZila Abkari Adhikari (District Excise Officer) Shri Rakesh Bahadur (R.B.Singh) who has been very co-operative.’ Regarding Arora’s query about the despatches, he added that he had received the license only yesterday and he would now move at super-speed to get the wines out before the Diwali season really picks up. He also confirmed that REGINA is the label he has decided for his label of all fruit wines. 

Also Read : UP Government to encourage Fruit Wine Production

The winery has been granted a capacity of 60,000 liters but will perhaps aim for 50,000 liters annually initially. It will be helped by winemakers from Nashik in Maharashtra where grape wine has been produced for several years, notwithstanding the fact that the process is a bit different from the grape wine production. The UP government had amended the excise policy in March last year to promote wine production in the locally sourced fruits. It also waived excise duty on wine produced from such fruits.

Also Read : Progressive Excise Policy for 2021-22 in UP

According to the Excise commissioner Senthil C Pandian, the local district excise officer will collect at least two samples of the freshly made wine in 750 mL bottles and test in the appropriate laboratory for potability and alcoholic strength before the bottles are allowed to be launched in the market. Muzaffarnagar district excise officer R B Singh reportedly said that local retailers and bar owners would be asked to display the UP-made wine before customers within the stores.

Also Read : U.P. gets first Modern Wine and Liquor Store Madira in Lucknow today

The price of the 750-ml bottle of various fruit varieties would range between Rs 800 and Rs 1,500, certainly not cheap by grape wine standards but being a local wine, the sales will be encouraged within the state. . Meanwhile, another wine unit situated in Bareilly is also expected to launch its products within this year.

As already written in delWine in its January 2023 edition, the winery has been erected at a cost of Rs. 40 million. The entrepreneur is expected to fund separately for the working capital including the cost of sourced fruit and receivables.

Subhash Arora