Meghalaya-based Lah Monte Winery showcased its range of red and white wines prepared from the traditional fruits of Meghalaya at the recent Sial exhibition in Delhi’s Dwarka. The winery showcased two red and two white wines prepared from Soh Brap (Meghalaya passion fruit), Soh Trun (Meghalaya pineapple), Sohiong ( Meghalaya prune), and Soh Lyngdkhur (Meghalaya mulberry).
Jeremy Foster Nongrum, founder of Lah Monte Winery, has been in the hospitality industry for over a decade after he graduated from IHM, Chennai. He also worked as a mixologist with several five-star properties. In the pandemic year 2020, he decided to return to Shillong and realized that the indigenous fruits of Meghalaya were underutilized. The Meghalaya Prune, Sohiong, which is found abundantly in Meghalaya, is grown in farmers’ backyards without any pesticides or insecticides, he said, adding even if they sell the fruits in the market, there is a lot of wastage.
“I thought of breaking this barrier between the farmers and the market and converting some of these indigenous fruits into wine. The wine and non-alcoholic beverages industry in India is growing very fast and the Sohiong has very delicate characteristics that make it suitable to be converted into a wine, which is very similar to a grape wine. I wanted my wines to have that mouthful feeling along with tannins,” he said.
The Lah Monte Winery was incepted in 2024 and is currently in the initial stages of building the brand, Nongrum said, adding they are constantly working on their products with trial and error to make their wines suitable alternatives to traditional grape wines.
With a team of four, the Lah Monte Winery is currently producing 10,000 liters of wine yearly, which is being supplied in Meghalaya. “We are using Lesaffre yeast from France to ferment the fruits. We need to produce high-quality wine with consistency, upscale it and then come to the market. We are proud to say we have a ‘Make in India’ product, which we want to upscale not only in India but export to other countries,” Nongrum said.
This was Nongrum’s first participation in any exhibition.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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