Wines get a tropical taste this christmas

Nothing can spell Christmas better than cakes, cookies and mulled wine. The aroma of the spices with the warmth of the wine flowing through the body can indeed invoke the festive spirit. In Chennai, some talented home chefs have taken to brewing wine from scratch in their kitchens, and have stepped beyond the usual to create unique brews.

“Many wines besides grapes have become popular in the city — apple, plum, banana and pineapple are some of the popular varieties,” begins Sheela Karthikeyan, a home-based winemaker. While the main process remains the same, a few variations in terms of the recipes are carried out, she tells us. “For example, the sweeter fruits will require lesser added sugar; or time taken to prepare the wine is different in each case. Beetroot wine can be made with 15-18 days of fermentation, whereas others may take longer,” she says.

During Christmas, one of her favourite wines to make is ginger because — “When we’re eating such calorie-rich or heavy meals, ginger acts as a digestive. It’s very easy to make and it gets done in 20-30 minutes. What I normally use is ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, red chillies, sugar and water. I coarsely pound the whole spices, red chillies and ginger and bring it to boil. Then, I add the sugar and lemon juice and let it simmer for around 20 minutes. To get a nice golden-brown colour, I caramelise a little sugar in water and add it to the wine,” Sheela explains.

Another unusual combination of fruit-based wine is mango and cloves. The home chef who makes this much-loved drink during Christmas (she wished to remain anonymous) says, “My customers have given me positive feedback and said the flavours work really well together. I think it makes for delicious wine and a cake too.” She also makes wine with potato, apple-cinnamon and orange. “All of them sell out as they’re getting made,” she smiles.

While we’re on the topic of unusual fruits with which these drinks can be made, there’s a winemaker in the city who uses flowers to make wine. Juhina, whose brand Sincerely, Sabrina is known for its bottles of bliss, has experimented with orchids and rose petal wine this year. “The former has turned out really well and it was pretty easy to make, just like any other ingredient,” she says.

A USP of her brand is that all the ingredients are organic and sourced from across India such as grapes from Maharashtra, fruits and vegetables from Coonoor and palm sugar (karupatti) from Tirunalveli. But doesn’t using karupatti change the taste of the wine? She clarifies, “No, it actually enhances it. Spiced black currant made with palm sugar is a hot favourite among my patrons currently.”

Additionally, Sheela wishes to add that the festive fervour need not end with Christmas. “I feel that there’s a taboo against wine in some families in Chennai because people think it contains alcohol. However, it’s only the yeast present in the fruit that causes fermentation. Most of the non-grape fruit wines available in the city are non-alcoholic beverages. This makes it ideal for people of all ages to consume wine, and it need not be restricted only to Christmas — India is a tropical country so we get many of these ingredients year-long,” she says. This news sure does sound like music to our ears!