Let wine flow from Nagpur oranges!

Technology to prepare wine from Nagpur orange has already been tried out successfully by some wine making industries. But, unfortunately not a single industry has come up in Vidarbha on any orange processing unit due to varied reasons including lack of political will on the part of local leaders. In an effort to give one more try to motivate entrepreneurs by instilling confidence in them about availability of technology, Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) is organisng a one-day seminar on the subject on Friday at Guru Nanak Bhawan near  Nagpur University campus.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference the VED president Vilas Kale informed that experts like Jaideep Kale, technical coordinator of Agriculture Export and Grape Wine Park and Floriculture Park, Abhay Kewadkar, business head (wines) and chief wine maker director of Four Seasons Wines Limited and Raghunath Khare, a renowned name in expertise in wine making from Bangalore will participate in it.

Khare has already made wine from 'Thulli, the small sized Nagpur orange which was well-received by the Wine Lovers Club in city. "He is bringing the wine especially for the seminar and will demonstrate the technique too. We are doing our job of taking the information to people. It is for the entrepreneurs now to take up the industry," said Kale.

Shridhar Thakre, president of Mahaorange who is a co-organiser of the seminar admitted that no proper efforts have been made to improve the existing orange variety or introduce new varieties in region. VED secretary Shiv Kumar Rao stressed on developing market linkages for improving the profit of farmers. Hence, over 200 farmers would be attending the seminar.

Joint secretary of VED Rina Sinha and chairperson of seminar pointed out that already two entrepreneurs have offered to set up orange based wine industry.