Take A Trip To India’s First Chikoo Winery Near Mumbai

“Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson

It’s true that not all superheros wear capes, some of them are corked, bottled and stored to rescue you from a Friday night crisis. We’ve always turned to our trusty grape-based friends - red, white, rose, we’re not colourist - to be that hero but now the World’s first chikoo wine is hitting the shelves and our loyalties are in jeopardy. While the idea was conceived by Nagesh Pai and Priyanka Save back in 2009, earlier last year about ten tonnes of chikoos were crushed and fermented into crafted chikoo cider.

Located about 150 km from Mumbai, in Bordi - a quaint hidden gem of Maharashtra, Fruzannte winery is skillfully converting the surplus chikoos growing on their plantations to bottled perfection. While the fruit is available all year long, it has never got its due recognition, inability to commercially process it makes it difficult to package chikoo juices and the most of the dried chikoo products fail to impress customers, this was before the idea of turning them into wines was conceived. While the high pH and fast perishing time of chikoo make it a bit of a challenge but Dominic Rivard - an award-winning winemaker in Nova Scotia cracked the science of chikoo winemaking.

While the wine is easily available at all the wine shops, there’s a different charm in indulging in this handcrafted perfection at the winery. Just a short drive from Mumbai, Fruzannte manufactures wine at the Hill Zine Resort. The resort offers a winery tour, a rousing wine tasting session along with some scrumptious meal to pair with your glass of fruit wine. If you’re up for an adventure, you can even grab a bottle of wine and head to the Bordi beach nearby. Apart from their unique wine, you can also indulge in other unique products such as chikoo chips and shake powder.

Diving deeper into the world of fruit wine, the winery is planning to continue its experimentation and likely to make a mango dessert wine followed by a starfruit wine. If you’re looking for a mini getaway to unwind from daily hassles, this winery is the ideal spot.

You can find more information about Fruzzante and the winery here.