Education

Maharashtra wine institute in MoU with Italian wine agencies

Neeti Mehra - Mumbai

In a bid to further establish the state's status as India's leading wine producing region, the Government of Maharashtra is focussing on the basics - education, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

In a dual move, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is ramping up activity at the wine institute in Sangli, which was set up in conjunction with Bharati Vidyapeeth, and has entered into an MoU with four major wine agencies of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy as well as the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce to set up a service centre within it - a part of a bigger development project. It is a welcome step for smaller players who do not have access or opportunity to tap international know-how and expert knowledge, including enhancing marketing skills.

Speaking to Express Hospitality, Rajiv Jalota, CEO of MIDC, said that this move is slated to act as a reference point for vintners, farmers, and entrepreneurs interested in the business with regards to technical assistance, training, wine tasting and an array of advisory services and study courses, ultimately leading to a boost in consumption as the quality bar in production is raised. "By this move, we are creating a scenario of opportunities for companies in India to invest in the wine segment and address the problems wine production is facing," he said. The capacity building programme chalked out by the state and a detailed study of the region for over a year led to the need for this.

Commenting on this, Dr Sauro Mezzetti of the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce said, "We will focus on not only production techniques but marketing and packaging for the local industry as well." Post the success of the venture, MIDC and the Indo-Italian Chamber will consider setting up similar ventures across the state of Maharashtra in designated zones. Currently Maharashtra accounts for 95 per cent of the country's wine production and has witnessed a surge of 33 per cent in exports for 2005-06. In addition, Nashik, Sangli, Pune, Solapur, Ahmednagar and Satara have been designated Agri Export Zones (AEZ) for grapes and grape wine parks.