Wine farmers in high spirits as prices climb

PUNE: After a long gap, the wine farmers have a reason to cheer. As the wine grape crushing season kicks off in Maharashtra and Karnataka, growers are expecting to get about 15% higher price this year due to the shortage of wine grapes. They also hope that none of their grapes will remain uncrushed due to good demand from the wineries.

The crushing season of wine grapes is from February till March. This year, the total crushing in the country is expected to be about 40,000 tonne, including the crushing of the table grapes Thompson and Bangalore Purple, which are used for manufacturing grape spirits, an increase of about 20% over the previous year.

Wine grape varieties are different than the table grape varieties and cannot be consumed as table grapes. The demand for wine grapes has increased this year due to many factors. The wine industry is expecting an increase in demand for the wines in 2014.

"This year is looking very bright. The demand for wine is going to increase," said Neeraj Agraval, senior vice president, Sula Wines.

About 50% of the area under wine grapes in Maharashtra, the top wine producer in the country, has already been uprooted due to oversupply and the recession in the past.

Some more area under wine grapes declined last year due to the drought in the state, as farmers preferred to keep the orchards of only the table grapes. Wine grape cultivation usually takes place under contract farming system. However, the system was observed more in breach as both the sides did not honour the contracts.