Rajasthan will soon be producing date palm wine made through the process of natural fermentation. Rajasthan will be the first state in India to produce wine from the date palm. Apart from this, a winery set up near Mount Abu in Sirohi District which is situated in southern Rajasthan will soon develop wine from pomegranate and citrus fruits too.
This winery has been established as per the Memorandum of Understanding which was signed during Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet in 2016 in Jaipur. The agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini stated that they have changed the excise policy of the state to set up the winery.
The Date palm farming began in Rajasthan in 2007-08. During this period the state imported around 21,294 tissue culture raised saplings from the UAE. The process of cultivation was done on 135 hectares of government farms in Jaisalmer and Bikaner. The saplings were given at a subsidized rate to the farmers in 12 districts across dry desert regions of northwestern Rajasthan. These regions include Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Nagaur, Pali, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Sirohi, and Churu.
The state of Rajasthan grows seven varieties of dates:
- Barhi,
- Khunezi,
- Medjool,
- Khadrawy,
- Khalas,
- Zamli and
- Saggai
These dates are grown on 840 hectares of land. The yield this year was around 1,600 tons. The wine will be produced from the Barhi variety of date as it has to be consumed as a fresh fruit. The other varieties can be dried and made into pind khajoor. The wine will be made through the process of natural fermentation and no spirit will be added.
These winery plants will definitely boost tourism in Rajasthan. Tourists can come and even view the process of manufacturing and do wine tastings.
The plant will consume about 3,000 liters of water every day as compared to roughly 100,000 liters in distilleries. And the waste from the winery will be used as manure.
