There is good news for wine consumers as scientists at a Lucknow-based research center have developed wine from the popular fruit mango.
A team of scientists at the Central Institute of Subtropical Horticultural Research (CISHR) in Lucknow has made wine using three types of mangoes – dusheri, langra and chis – grown in abundance in Uttar Pradesh, said its director H Ravishankar.
Traditionally, wine is made from grapes and apples in France, Italy, Spain and Austria. The experiment was successful after three years of research work, Ravi Shankar added.
He said CISHR, mandated to conduct basic and applied research to increase productivity and develop value chains of major and minor subtropical fruits, started the research 30 years ago.
But after many years of delay a team of scientists led by Neelima Garg tried again and succeeded in making wine from mangoes.
A member of the research team said that the alcohol content of wine produced from mango is 8-9 percent. Typical wine made from grapes has an alcohol content of between 12-15 percent.
The taste of wine made from different varieties of the king of fruits varies due to their flavor differences, the researchers added.
The researchers’ main problem in the process was reducing the viscosity of the mango pulp to a level suitable for wine.
Mangoes contain a lot of sugar, which is the main source of alcohol, but the viscosity needs to be balanced, the researchers said.
The CISHR director said that after completing the feasibility study of the mango wine project, they were studying other issues like standardization and other protocols before going for a patent on the technology.
Ravi Shankar said entrepreneurs have started contacting the Center for new technologies.
He said, they are facing problem due to lack of liquor policy of UP. “The CISHR officials have written to the UP government on how to benefit the state’s mango growers with the latest technology,” he added.
