KASARAGOD / KOCHI : In vino veritas... And, the truth of the matter is that the Kerala government seems keen to hear the bottle pop when it comes to wine production. Sebastian Augustine, a farmer-entrepreneur from Bheemanady, in Kasaragod, has become the first person to receive approval from the state government to start a fruit-based winery and bottling facility.
The development comes exactly two years after the government passed legislation, the Small Scale Winery Rules, 2022, to allow farmers to produce horti-wine with fruits as input.
With the licence, Sebastian plans to register the winery as an MSME and conceive the unit as an agro-startup. “The building has been constructed. Now, there’s the matter of acquiring the necessary equipment for wine production,” Sebastian told TNIE.
Sebastian already holds a patent for making wine from tender coconut. Though he obtained this in 2007, without a production licence he could not conceive a unit. Up until now. Two products are being planned. One made of fruits and tender coconut, without using natural water. The other is a wine made from fruits alone.
“The fruits we plan to use are jackfruit, banana, mango, papaya, tender coconut and dragon fruit,” Sebastian said. Most of these items will be sourced from my land in Bheemanady, he added.
“A set of 1,000 tender coconuts can produce a 250-litre batch of tender coconut wine,” Sebastian says.
To meet likely demand, he plans to source additional inputs from farmer groups, Kudumbashree and other cooperatives. Around 1,000 tender coconuts and 250kg of fruits are expected to be required for wine production every day.
The Beverages Corporation (Bevco) has a monopoly on alcohol sales in the state. Horti-wine, which contains up to 15.5% alcohol, can only be sold through Bevco outlets.
In October 2022, the government decided to relax the laws and promote small-scale wineries in the state. Yet, despite this, a lack of government subsidy has seen many farmers refraining from taking the full plunge. “I really wish there was a subsidy to assist small-scale farmer-entrepreneurs like us,” says Sebastian.
As of now, wine production is included in the ‘negative list’ of businesses that are eligible for subsidy by the industries department. Add to this the dismal sales of wine, which currently accounts for only 1% of the total liquor sold in the state.
In any case, Sebastian’s endeavour is certain to be a big fillip to the local agriculture scene. Several farmers and entrepreneurs have already approached him for assistance to set up their own wineries.
“I will start operations in two months,” adds Sebastian, who retired as a deputy tehsildar in 1998. He has also served as vice-chairman of Infam, a farmers’ collective.
