Alexander Fleming’s prophetic words ‘penicillin cures but wine makes people happy’ resound loudly in village Titari, located 5km from the salt-confectionery capital of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. Inside the village’s imposing winery, young hands carefully control the multistage winemaking process: from keeping a tab on the fermentation conditions to tracking the ageing process in the large barrels.

Wine may be known to civilisation for ages, but this village discovered its many virtues only in 2006-07, when the first batch of 25,000 litres of red wine was drained from the large barrels at the winery.

Production grew steadily to touch 1.25 lakh litres this year, making the region’s 62 directly employed youth and 550 grape farmers happy in the process. Initiated as a cooperative by 18 village families, it is now being upgraded to a producer company.

Though the region is known for its bountiful harvests of horticultural crops, dominated by pea and tomato, table grapes were a later addition. The credit goes to Ambaram Patidar, an enterprising farmer who first put the village on the pea-tomato map by achieving record harvests and linking the produce to the mandis of north India. He made his village go beyond subsistence farming by adopting highly modern techniques. He was also instrumental in bringing grape cultivation to Madhya Pradesh. He used to say, “ Kheti ko labha ka dhandha banana hai to samay se aage sochna hoga (If you want to make farming your business, you have to think far into the future).”

From a successful harvest on one acre in 1985, grape cultivation has spread to 850 acres in the village. Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Zinfandel and Chenin Blanc are the commonly grown wine grape varieties here.

“Making farmers switch from table grapes to wine grapes was much tougher than fermenting grapes to produce wine,” recounts Jitendra Patidar (31), Ambaram’s nephew, who is continuing his uncle’s legacy. The young man worked overtime to convince fellow villagers that wine is not only different from country liquor but also the most healthy and hygienic of all beverages.

The only graduate in the village, he holds a postgraduate diploma in wine technology from Bharti Vidyapeeth University, Pune. He underwent training in winery operations in California. Armed with vital information on his laptop, Jitendra knocked on several doors in the power corridor to help ease the policy governing direct marketing of wine.

Thanks to the efforts, a State known for soya beans announced its Grape Processing Industrial Policy in 2006. Winemaking, which was earlier on the ‘negative list’, was bestowed with excise tax exemption for 10 years.

To encourage winemaking at the local level, district collectors were empowered to issue licences within 30 days of receiving a fee of ₹10,000. Titari village was anointed ‘Krishi Teerath’ by the State government.

Ambi wines, named after Ambaram, are poised for a bright future. At present, the winery operates 14 outlets in various cities of Madhya Pradesh. Under the Ambi and Apsara brands, there are 10 types of wines catering to varied tastes. After the initial training in winemaking from California, Jitendra visited wineries in other countries to upgrade his knowledge on production and marketing.

But his job is far from over. Since wine drinking is not common in the country, like elsewhere in the West, there is a need to educate people about it.

Only a growth in demand for wine can convince more farmers to take up grape cultivation, locals say. Jitendra is hoping to get venture capital to not only expand operations but also promote grape production and processing in the State.

The writer is Director, The Eco-logical Foundation, New Delhi

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