Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, a state in the east Khasi hills of India. A picturesque town amidst rolling hills, cherry blossom and lakes. The British called it the Scotland of the East.
But if Scotland is known for its whisky, Meghalaya wants to be known for its fruit wines.
Fruits like Bayberry, strawberry, plum, local blackberry, pineapple, Himalayan dark cherry or Tergism. Anything but grape.
This is Sandip Roy in Shillong.
At the Shillong Literary Festival, I found to my surprise, not just books but row after row of wine stalls. Bottled wines made from every kind of fruit. Even rice .
As I strolled past the stalls, while music played, smiling vendors offered me samples of wine. It was just 10 in the morning but as they say it’s always wine o’clock somewhere.
John at one of the stalls offered me samples
JOHN1: we have strawberry jam, rosé, blueberry, jamon and plum. And rest are already that black fruit.
Wine making in Meghalaya is as old as the hills, At Little Haven, Maryanne Hynniwta says they would make juice from excess fruit in their backyard. Then a bottle burst in the fridge.
MH1: But one day when I found out the bottle burst. It wasn't such a good experience, you know. Then I thought to myself, ah, let me make wine.
Her mother in law taught her to make wine with passionfruit.
But it was just for home use. In 1947 one Captain Harold Douglas Hunt set up a winery to produce cherry wine and cherry brandy with local berries. But the winery shut down in the 1980s when Captain Hunt died.
Now the government is trying to take hobbyist wine making and turn it into a full fledged cottage industry. Wine festivals and all. All non-grape. Byolinda at another stall says they have some 17-18 wines
B1: The most popular is Sohiang, wild apple. Passion fruit. And pineapple is famous here.
Sohiang is a local blackberry. One winery describes Sohiong Oak Reserve as being semi dry having rich dark berry notes with a smooth finish.,
Harshith TR at the PRIME Meghalaya state says sohiong is a popular wine berry. Like black grapes.
H1: It’s a little bit of tangy. a little sour, more of a sweet
Since 2022 the local government has a program called PRIME Meghalaya to work with rural entrepreneurs to bring their products to market. Pickles, jams, teas/ And wines. Instead of waiting for them to come from far away villages to the city markets, they go to them. A doorstep incubation program.
H2: So when I say holistic From providing workspace to machinery to packaging to branding to bringing them to the market.
The state just extended value added tax exemption on its fruit wine to ten years to boost production.
Maryanne Hynnwita says she has been making wine for over a decade. But now she’s excited about trying different kinds of fruits
MH2: some fruits, they are very sour and some fruit are very sweet. So it depends like, uh, very sweet fruit, very fast fermenting.
The processing takes about 6 months. And if you keep it 5 years it becomes vintage. Unless you are making wine from something with very little sugar like ginger. That can take 2 to 3 years.
MH3: it gets, uh, like, crystallized by its own self without adding any chemicals. And we are all organic.
And for those who don’t drink wine but still would like to try local hill flavours, Mishmi Mazumder at Taste of Shilliong has ice creams. Made not just with fruits
MM1:We have our turmeric ice cream also, which is very famous these days. And then we have got the the star fruit. Then we have the soyoung then uh, also the passion fruit. And then the samalang, which is the gooseberry.
They started out with home based appliances.
MM2: we are proud. have the taste of Shillong and we are one of the top 35 entrepreneurs.
A small state with hilly terrain is turning into India’s fruit wine haven. And Maryanne Hynniwta has new wine goals. From The hottest chili around
MH4: I have made grapes. I have made apples. I made all those others. And I would like to make, you know, because I came to know about this chili. You know, chili, hot pepper, chili, even wine.
Wine out of chili? King chili you know king chill.
King chili wine… I’ll be back for that.
This is Sandip Roy in Shillong for KALW