It’s a truth universally acknowledged (or at least should be by now) that there is no greater means of being blissfully intoxicated than by a bottle of wine. Grapes have been the traditional offering to the wine Gods but why write off the infinite potential of other fruits to please oenophiles? Back home, chikoo has stepped up to the plate and the world’s first ever chikoo wine was launched earlier this year. The brainchild behind this are winery owners Nagesh Pai and Priyanka Save, whose vineyard Bordi is located around 10km from Dahanu, Maharashtra. According to this report by the Indian Express, what initially started out as a way to boost the declining sales of the fruit in the traditional chikoo-growing belt of Dahanu-Gholvad became an experiment with chikoo wine-making at home. To produce on a large scale, Pai and Save roped in revered Canadian wine-maker Dominic Rivard who has been who has been travelling to different parts of the world for the last 25 years, making fruit wine.
Wondering how the humble chikoo fruit made its entry into the glamorous world of vino? This sweet fruit is laden with caramel notes and has a high pH value which aids the fermentation process. “A good thing, if you want to make wine out of it,” Rivard told the LiveMint in this report. Launched under the label Fruzzante the wine overwhelms the senses with the fragrance of the fruit. It has been made into a palatable sparkling cider-style wine with beer-like qualities and hints of caramel and vanilla.
After almost a five-year struggle for licences, this delicious sweet handcrafted wine, that pairs well with all Asian food, is finally available in high retail shops across Mumbai for just INR 255 (330ml)! Diving deeper into the world of fruit wine, Bordi winery plans on experimenting with other fruits including litchi, mango, black plums and even star fruit. This is definitely great news for the wine aficionados in India!
Feature image via The Happy High
If you enjoyed reading this article we suggest you read: