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Michael Syiem, a local wine enthusiast and President of the Meghalaya Association of Wine Makers and the Forever Young Sports Club, has been organizing the Festival for the last several years. “Meghalaya government should learn something good from Mizoram, a dry state, where it has amended the Excise Act twice to legalize production of fruit wines,” he reportedly said.
Michael, who I met about 4 years ago at the earlier edition of the same wine festival, is full of enthusiasm and optimism despite the government not inching away from total prohibition. He is an optimist and confident that in the years to come the government will realize the importance of legalizing fruit wine making from the perspective of a job opportunity for the youth and also in promoting tourism.
"There is no law that prevents wine-making at home. But to sell it, one requires a license and we expect the government to consider the possibility of legalizing selling of fruit wines as it has tremendous business prospects," he said. The enthusiasts make only about a 1000 bottles and sell it unofficially to their friends or give away to their families. Naturally the costs are higher than other States like Himachal Pradesh.
Angel Marbaniang of Merry Dew Wines, whom I had found very passionate about her fruit wines when I met her, makes a variety of wines from seasonal fruits such as Peach, Gooseberry, and Strawberry while her favourite is the local fruit Sohlang which is very popular and is the first one to be sold out. Fruit wines on display at the one-day festival last week were made from several local fruits like ginger, mulberry, strawberry, passion fruit, blackberry, plum, banana, jackfruit etc.
While Meghalaya has hosted the wine festival since 2002 after the central government had allowed liberal imports of wine, Mizoram amended their Excise Act in 2005 and allowed wine production from grapes. Again in 2012 it legalized wine making from all fruits. Michael and his colleague wine makers want his State to be on the same footing on wine with Mizoram.
The wine festival is aimed at creating awareness not only on the art of wine making but also to show its potential as an industry, Syiem said. Shillong is often referred to as the 'Scotland of the East' because it is amazingly similar to the Scottish highlands. As in the West, some families serve homemade fruit wines at dinners and family gatherings.
People from the nearby states and even overseas had come to taste these wines. "It is just a perfect day for me to be in Shillong and raising a toast brewed from exotic blackberry fruits," said Roxana Marani, a tourist from Italy, according to reports.
For an earlier Report on the Festival, please visit Shimla to Shillong Seeking Fruit Wines
Subhash Arora |