Cumbum Valley Winery Ltd., Anamalaipatti, Tamil Nadu

Cumbum Valley Winery Ltd. is Rs 9.5 crore project. But this project was not an overnight manifestation and has had a gestation period of nearly 13 years. A major manufacturer of printers’ ink, R Raghu, the chairman of the winery, was attracted by the colourful bunches and the taste of the fruits, and so he bought a small plot at the far end of the valley. He first saw grapevine in the early 1990s and had watched a BBC programme on wine production. He then made up his mind to start a winery in the valley. He also wanted to help the grape cultivators who found it hard to market their crops.

This winery in Anamalaipatti near Cumbum will start producing wine either late August or early September 2009.

There were the usual road blocks and hassles but he overcame them all to launch the industry. He was confident that there would be no need now for the cultivators to bury their fruits, or look for marketing facilities as his winery purchased all of their produce. He was also thankful to District Collector P Muthuveeran for his cooperation and assistance. Permission for the winery was granted a year ago and it would change the industrial profile of the district, said Muthuveeran. He was told that the wines produced here would be on par in quality with other wines available in the market.

The Cumbum valley wine would be marketed through TASMAC outlets, he added. Padma Ravichandran, the general manager of the winery, described it as a dream project.

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