Ambi Vineyards
THE FACTS
THE STORY
The first grapevines in Titari, a village outside Ratlam, were planted in 2003, but this story goes back three decades. Madhya Pradesh is hardly, if at all, associated with wine, and as the story unfolded of three generations of Patidars and Patels, who brought grapes to the state and instigated a number of key policies, it occurred to me that my journey from Mumbai to Ratlam may have been arduous, but it was nothing in comparison to their trials and tribulations. Raju Patel’s family are the sole producers of wine in Madhya Pradesh today.
The state has always been, and still is, overwhelmingly agricultural. The late Ambaram Patidar, Raju’s grandfather, and current village elder Jamnalal Patidar worked together in the 1970s as young farmers. Both Ambaram and Jamnalal were probably regarded as restless youth, because they travelled extensively to learn more about agricultural production and, later, to sell their produce. During one of their trips to Mumbai in the late 1970s, they spotted other farmers selling grapes. An interesting chat with their tomato broker, and before long the two entrepreneurial Madhya Pradesh farmers were making their way to Pune.
After three days of travel they met Basvante Rao, the then president of the All India Grape Growers’ Association and professor of agriculture at Pune University. Rao asked for climatic data to understand whether the conditions were right for grape growing on the Patidars’ land, but there were none. Even today, the most basic data are unavailable for some districts. Ambaram and Jamnalal were given a thousand plants of Tash-a-Ganesh, a table-grape variety developed by Rao, and off they went to experiment at their own risk.
The vines were planted during the monsoon month of July in 1980 and the first crop was harvested four years later. In the interim, the Titari farmers made friends in Nashik, who taught them the ins and outs of viticulture. The major problem was no longer the lack of expertise, but the lack of support from either the government or the university, who deemed grapes unsuitable for cultivation in Madhya Pradesh. Consequently, there were no financial sources to develop the industry.
Ambaram and Jamnalal decided to organise a three-day seminar for local farmers to which they invited representatives of the government, the university and banks as well. There was no turning back now and banks were authorised to provide finance for viticulture. As a result the area under vine grew from a single acre to 350 acres between 1984 and 1995.
The droughts of 1998, 1999 and 2000 sparked the idea that wine grapes required less water and pesticide, and could prove a viable alternative to table grapes. Experiments with Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz began in 2001 and by 2003 they had proved their potential. However, there was no wine policy in the state at all.
The campaign for the creation of the necessary regulatory environment was begun immediately and, as part of the process, the Madhya Pradesh government had Shyamrao Chougule of Chateau Indage on board as an advisor. Chougule spared no time or energy in collecting and analysing climatic data and imparting his commercial insight. Finally, in 2006, the Grape Processing Policy was created, but ironically Chougule deemed it incomplete, which prevented Chateau Indage from investing in the state. His complaint was that though the policy covered production of wine, all commercial aspects were concerned with the distribution and marketing of only spirits; so, from a wine perspective, the regulations were still one-legged.
Nevertheless, more and more farmers converted from table grapes and the production of wine became an inescapable reality, which required the construction of a winery. The banks were still reluctant to provide the line of finance, though the demand was for not more than Rs 18 million, about £ 250,000 in today’s money. NABAD, a bankers’ bank, was closely attached to the project, and put forward a part of the requisite amount. Fortunately, the Progressive Farmers’ Club of Madhya Pradesh was awarded the Best Agricultural Club title in India in 2005 for the introduction of modern farming practices, and this gave the final push for the Bank of Baroda to provide the missing ten per cent of the initial loan of Rs 11,800,000.
The remaining Rs 8 million was collected from the life-savings of local farmers, so the pressure was now on Ambaram and Jamnalal to make the venture a success. In 2008, when the first vintage came in, a hoard of villagers stood waiting outside the newly-built winery to see the turning of the wheels of the Italian machinery. The crusher, however, would not move, adding to the poignancy of the moment. A friend of Raju’s father proved to be a handy self-taught engineer, and he managed to fix the problem. The first bunches of grapes were crushed at just after midnight.
Chougule’s prediction of problems with the incomplete policy soon came true with the Patels finding that the maiden vintage of 2008 could not be sold. Under the rules of the time, the government stored the producers’ stocks in their warehouses, and auctioned the products to retailers. The lack of control over distribution was compounded with the retailers’ demand for excessive schemes or, more politely put, for listing fees.
The leading candidate for election to the post of chief minister of the state was a farmer himself, so Ambi Vineyards’ shareholders approached him on his campaign trail and secured the promise of more liberal policies. After his election, the victorious CM stayed true to his word and the first retail outlet permit was issued in 2009. The request for more licences a year later was unsuccessful, but given that the Madhya Pradesh government derives the major part of its revenue from the monopoly of spirits and liquor, this was not surprising. The decades of relationship building, though, meant that there were several senior civil servants and politicians aware of the Ambi Vineyards story, and so new permits were issued from 2010 onwards. Today, the third generation of wine farmers is working on the creation of a franchise system across all districts of the state. The year 2014 was the most commercially successful thus far.
The story of Madhya Pradesh wine is inseparably interlinked with Ambi Vineyards, underlining the importance of progressive thinkers and visionaries in rural communities. It is only Jamnalal who is with us today of the initial pioneers. As chairman of Ambi Vineyards and a village elder, he radiates wisdom in his fundamentally humble manner. His eyes shine with the excitement of exploring and understanding, but he now gives way to Raju Patel and Motilal Patidar, third-generation wine farmers, who continue to push the boundaries by learning winemaking skills in California and New Zealand and focusing on commercial developments in their home state.
THE ESTATE
Ambi Vineyards is located in the village of Titari near the city of Ratlam. Whilst there is a direct train link from Mumbai, it is faster to fly to the commercial hub of Indore and do the three-hour car journey on a motorway that may have a missing bridge or two, compelling drivers to navigate across muddy dirt tracks.
The vineyard was established by importing the plant material from Maharashtra, all of which is grafted on Bangalore Dog Ridge rootstock. The brown loam soil with occasional patches of iron-rich red affection sustains two principal varieties of grape, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Interestingly, there is a significant difference in yield levels, as the Cabernet produces three tons an acre, while Shiraz can reach between four and five tons. All 35 inches of annual rain fall during the monsoon season, so the vines need artificial irrigation, achieved by applying a combination of drip- and flood-irrigation systems.
The Mediterranean-like temperatures that range between 10° C and 40–42° C as well as the diurnal winter range of 10° to 25° C must help to preserve the freshness of the wines. The annual cycle shows similarity with the other regions in that the pre-growing-season pruning is in late September or early October and the harvest is normally commenced in early February and finished in late March. It is mostly vegetables and pomegranates that farmers focus on in this primarily agricultural state, and so birds are the worst pests for the Ambi Vineyards. The only way to combat the problem is to net the vines.
THE WINES
There is exciting potential for the production of high-quality wines in Madhya Pradesh, but the road ahead is a long one from the Western perspective. I tasted over half a dozen of Ambi Vineyards’ wines and the wow factor was initially missing. All of them were poured from bottles which bore no indication of vintage, but the proprietors Raju and Motilal identified them precisely for me. The non-vintage label is for duty and tax reasons, serving as a way to avoid having to re-register labels. The wine samples were technically correct, even if the tannins were overly dusty and the fruits dried out. The Cabernets appeared to be, at best, mediocre quality bordeaux from the ’80s; that is, they had died a while ago.
I was anxious to understand exactly what Ambi Vineyards produced, so I urged Raju to send someone for a tank sample. It turned out to be a revelation – of potential. The Cabernet in my glass was simple, rich in fruits, and with a lovely, soft and rounded structure, velvety feel and good concentration. To summarise, there is much to be done to put these wines on the market, but the capability certainly exists to produce an enjoyable drink.
THE LABELS
- Ambi Vineyards Shiraz Cabernet
- Ambi Vineyards Shiraz
- Ambi Vineyards Cabernet Shiraz
- Ambi Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
- Ambi Vineyards Malwi Port