Two weeks ago
I was really nervous, as my two year old home made strawberry wine was
getting oxidized. Though it was home made, it had all the qualities of
good wine like colour, clarity, aroma, taste and alcohol percent. But
due to uncontrollable storage conditions at home, now it is getting spoiled.
I wish,
I could store it for longer time. Alas...
That
time I remembered that recently I heard about a winery which makes fruit
wines. I had lots of questions in my mind, like, how fruit wines are made
commercially, what type of machines are used (crusher, filters etc.). also does
that wine retains aroma and flavour during storage or ageing. (as fruit
wines are delicate than grape wine.)
I
thought I should visit that winery.
so I
had a word with owner/wine maker of Hillcrest winery, Mr. Akalpit prabhune
(engineer by education, winemaker by passion). Last sunday I had
opportunity to meet him at the winery, located at Dhayri MIDC, Pune.
Pune is
one of the major wine making regions of Maharashtra, India. Here wine is well
appreciated, so most wine events are also alsorganised in Pune.
Most
fruit wines (mainly apple wine and recently added plum, peach and strawberry)
are produced in Himachal Pradesh. Hillcrest winery makes pineapple wine
commercially under the brand name Rhythum and recently they have launched their
strawberry wine under same label.
winery
is comparatively small, capacity is nearly 15,000 to 20,000 liters. Though it
is small, it is clean and well maintained. Maintaining cleanliness in the
winery is more important than actual wine making, because any microbial attack
or contamination can spoil your wine and your efforts.
I
tasted both strawberry and pineapple wine. Both wines are fruity and
sweet. In India wine culture is not that developed because of the weather
conditions (In colder parts of the world like Europe, wine is part of daily
diet) that's why most Indian consumers do not have a palate developed for
wine taste. For them it is easy to start with a more sweet and less acidic
wine, a bit like rose. Wines from Rhythm are exactly like this, so can be
called as beginner's wines.
Strawberry
wine:-
Strawberry
wine's appearance is really interesting, completely blush resembling fresh
strawberries.
Brilliantly
clear with no presence of sediments, any floaters or bits of cork (as wine is
screw capped).
After
swirling wine gives a rich fruity aroma of fresh strawberries. (Good aroma is
an indicator of good wine).
The
first sip itself gives you refreshing fruity, sweet taste with balanced
tannins, making you long for another sip.
This
light bodied wine (Light body: wine flavour does not stay in mouth for long)
with 12 to 13% alcohol can set mood of any wine beginner.
Pineapple
wine :-
The
translucent pineapple wine looks much like Chardonnay (a pale yellow
grape wine).
Aroma
is ok with very small tinge of pineapple in it (I was expecting fresh acidic
aroma like freshly cut pineapple).
This
wine is much more on sweeter side (again, I was expecting fresh acidic flavour
of pineapple). Still a tinge of pineapple is experienced in after taste.
This
fresh sweet wine with moderate alcohol (12 to 14%) can surely be an icebreaker
for people who want to start wine tasting.
As I
have tasted both wines one by one, couldn't stop comparing them, and will
choose strawberry wine over pineapple. But both of them
have calibre to set the mood of party and create new wine lovers.
The
winery visit was really good experience and it made me aware that even if I am
making wine at home, maintaining wine has no less standards than a maintaining
a winery. And efforts taken by the Rhythum are clearly seen in the both
labels.
So give
it a chance and start your journey of thousand wine bottles with sip of fresh
fruity wine...
Sante.....
