Ciders from Palghar set to satiate guzzlers’ thirst

Nagpur: It’s somewhere between a breezer and wine, and a businessman from Palghar, 100km north of Mumbai, is hoping that the cider beverage market will soon create a niche of its own.
“In very simple terms I will describe cider as a crude form of wine,” said Nagesh Pai, director of HillZill Wines, adding, “it’s made out of fruits that are grown widely in Maharashtra.” Launching his cider brand ‘Fruzzante’ on Friday, Pai said this will be a game changer for farmers who are in the fruit orchard business.
Pai said, “I come from a farmer’s family and was born in Palghar where I have seen chikoo fruits (mud apple/sapodilla) just going waste or rotting because there is no market for it. We started experimenting with products that can be made from chikoo and ultimately we were the first in the world to extract juice from it.
“We made cider from it and launched the product in December 2016 and it became popular very soon. As of today, we are making ciders from seven different fruits.”
His factory in Palghar sources fruits from different parts of the state, except mangoes and chikoos. “I have my own plantation which gives me access to tonnes of mangoes along with chikoo. Our ciders are naturally produced with no added colour or preservative,” said Pai. The alcohol content in ciders is between 5% and 10%.
Nagpur’s oranges are next on Pai’s menu. “By 2020, we are planning to launch orange cider using the best quality of available fruits from this region,” said Pai.
Nagpur is the third city where Pai is launching the product because of ‘amazing’ response. “An initial run we did in February saw the limited stock getting sold within hours. I was convinced that Nagpur is a place with a lot of business potential and immediately decided to set up a network here,” said Pai.
Deepak Khanuja, director of Nagpur Wine Club, said ciders will appeal to the younger crowd more. “It’s smooth and the sweetness will appeal to those who don’t like hard liquor. It’s like a beginner’s drink,” said Khanuja.
His colleague Sudhir Kunte agreed, saying, “Cider is a more socially acceptable drink along with being palatable for all. The packaging in small bottles makes it easier to hold in a party, so I think in Nagpur there is a lot of scope for such beverages.”
For Pai, the next challenge is getting a level playing field with wineries. “For wine producers there is 100% excise exemption. If we too get the same then retail price of the product may go down by 20%-30% and make us more competitive in the market. We have met the minister in charge Chandrashekhar Bawankule regarding this and he has promised to look into the request once the polls are over,” said Pai.
QUOTES
We procure our entire requirement of fruits from Maharashtra farmers. Our aim is to make a cider beverage with every possible fruit that’s grown in our state and help farmers inculcate best practices to improve the quality of yield. For farmer families, like myself, it is about moving up the value chain to and get the best value out of your produce
Nagesh Pai | Director of HillZill Wines
There is a market for every beverage. It all depends on your pallette and what you find more pleasing. Ciders have a nice fruity punch to it, very smooth, which will gain acceptance more among those who are not into hard drinks
Sharad Phadnis | Director of Nagpur Wine Club