Organic Kiwi Wine Of India

Naara Aaba – the first organic Kiwi wine from India

Wine world is always full of surprises, goes the saying. And this proved to be right when  I came learn about a Kiwi wine being produced in state of Arunachal Pradesh in North East India. More surpisingly, this organic wine from a remote area in Arunachal Pradesh is marketed in Chinese bottles.

Hong village, where the winery is located, is the second largest village in Asia and is inhabited by Apatani people which is one of the major tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The winery brews NAARA AABA the first ever pure Kiwi Wine in India. Setting up of the winery in such a remote area was something totally new and a gentle wake up call for the hardworking and fun loving people of Ziro valley to learn modern ways to utilize their vast lands.

As per Byorefresh – the offcial website of winery, the green and virgin mountain slopes adjoining the winery are perfect for growing kiwi fruit to its fullest extent. The abundant sunshine in the region (Ziro) contributes to optimum growth and taste of the fruit. It is not just this organic harvest alone but the best fruit suitable for wine making is selected and pressed into shiny fermenting steel tanks. NAARA AABA is an attempt to preserve the fruit in its best form and taste. It comes with an environmentally conscious practice and aims to provide the villagers self employment, dignity of labour and a progressive farming life.

The kiwi boom around the Ziro Valley, however suffers from the curse of bad roads. Though the winery invested in the best of machinery and brought experts from Nashik, but finding the right bottle for the wine, which could withstand transportation across the bad roads was a challenge. Finally Chinese bottles were selected as these were sturdy, to market the wine.

A bottle of Naara Aaba retails at INR 1200 in Arunachal and INR 1500 at Guwahati. I do hope to taste it sometime soon.