• 1 Abegaz K, et. al., "Indigenous processing methods and raw materials of borde, a Ethiopian traditio (...)
• 2 Lillicrap D., Cousins J., & Smith R., Food and Beverage Service (5th ed.), Tottenham, London, Hodd (...)
• 3 Martin A. O’Neill and Adrian Palmer, Wine Production and Tourism—Adding Service to a Perfect Partn (...)

1Tourism is a dynamic and competitive industry divided into different sectors, namely, Accommodation, Recreation and Entertainment, Transportation, Travel Services and Food & Beverage Services. Wine is an important segment in food and beverage service and has a very rich history. The Old Testament in the Bible gives evidence of the existence of wines, but there is a definite evidence of its use in China in 2000 BC and in Egypt in 3000 BC1.Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of the juice of freshly gathered grapes2. Several wine producing regions around the world have promoted wine tourism in order to get economically benefitted. The Growers’ associations and others in the hospitality industry in wine regions have spent significant amounts of money over the years to promote such tourism (wine tourism, 2009). Fruit wines play a major role in Indian wines; these are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients (other than Grape). They may have additional flavours taken from fruit, flower and herb. Fruit wines are usually referred by their main ingredient. Wine tourism is a form of the niche tourism and it is a new entrant to the world tourism system. The wine tourism has significantly developed in the countries like Italy, France, Australia, Hungary, South Africa and it is one of the central tourist motivation for destination development, but in India it has not yet carved its remarkable position, still there is a significant growth of wine tourism if it is explored in the efficient and effective manner. Today, wine tourism is acknowledged as a growing area of special-interest tourism throughout the world and it is an increasingly important tourism component of for many wine-producing regions. With its wide range of benefits, including foreign-exchange earnings, the creation of both full- and part-time jobs, and the generation of secondary economic activity, wine tourism is emerging as a lucrative industry sector with the ability to generate substantial long-term wealth and sustain steady tourism growth for these regions3.

• 4 Singaravelavan R., Food and Beverage Service, Oxford University Press, 2011

4Wine: Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of freshly gathered grape juice. It refers to the fermented by-products of grapes (Vitis Vinifera) but it may include any undistilled alcoholic fruit product obtained after fermentation. The alcoholic content varies from 10 to 14%4.

• 5 Baslingappa S., Thakor N.J and Divate A.D., "Fruit Wine Production: A Review", Journal Of Food Res (...)

5Fruit wines are un-distilled alcoholic beverages usually made from grapes or other fruits such as peaches, plums or apricots, banana, elderberry or black current etc. which are nutritive, more tasty and mild stimulants5. Fruit wines are usually referred to by their main ingredient (e.g., plum wine or elderberry wine) because the usual definition of wine states that it is made from fermented grape juice. In the European Union, wine is legally defined as the fermented juice of grapes. Fruit wine is commonly called country wine. Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients (other than grapes); they may also have additional flavours taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any fermented alcoholic beverage except beer (Wikipedia).

• 6 Sundbo D. & Sundbo J., "Interest Regimes in Fruit Wine Tourism", Journal of Gastronomy and Tourism(...)

6Fruit wines have traditionally been popular with home winemakers and in areas with cool climates such as North America and Scandinavia; Africa, India, and the Philippines etc. The modern fruit wine may be used more widely as an aperitif, an accompaniment to meals or even used in food and can be considered parallel to grape wines. This wider use and the basic idea of fruit wine as an alternative to grape wine is a new concept6. Fruit wine is undergoing gastronomic renewal. New, scientific cultivation and productions methods and the use of local varieties of fruit, primarily apples and cherries, based in local “terroir” are bases for new types of fruit wine with high gastronomic value. Producers are experimenting with new fruit varieties, new cultivation methods (using different fertilizing methods, land areas, harvest times, apple and cherry varieties etc.) and new production methods (storing temperature, fermentation, chemical control etc.).

• 7 Liz Thach, Wine Business Monthly Trends in Wine Tourism- Discover the motivations of wine tourists (...)

7Wine tourism has been growing because of interest in wine in general. Additionally, in many cases, government provides assistance to wine producers. The Resource Guide for start-up suggests that “as government officials have become aware of the wine industry’s potential to create economic opportunities in rural communities, they have increasingly supported initiatives such as plantings of vines and orchards, other capital investments and sales and marketing campaigns”. Governments realized the benefits of wine production for the local economy. The wine producing regions are promoting wine tourism realizing the returns it provides in smaller investments as compared to other forms of tourism. Another reason for the increased response to the wine industry is due to the change of values in society resulting in an increased interest in environmental issues. The ‘green’ tourist activities are gaining popularity due to increased interest in environmental issues. That is why agro- and eco-tourism have become a popular trend7.

• 8 Douglas N., Douglas N. & Derret, R., Special Interest Tourism, Australia, Wiley, 2001.
• 9 Getz D., Explore wine tourism: Management, development & destinations, New York, Cognizant Communi (...)
• 10 Raut A. & Bhakay, J.. J. Food Ag-Ind, 2012, 5(02), p. 141-155
• 11 Idem.

11The emergence of special interest tourism (SIT) is viewed as an evidence of the increasing diversity of holiday interests of the early twenty-first century leisure society8. Wine tourism, as special interest tourism (SIT), encompasses a wide range of experiences built around tourist visitation to wine outlets, wineries and wine regions9. One of the most widely used definitions of wine tourism is from visitor’s perspective. Wine tourism is now acknowledged as a emerging area of special-interest tourism throughout the world, and it is an increasingly important tourism component for many wine-producing countries. The wine sector has shown significant growth in the last five years in India and the tourism related activity has also increased, particularly in Maharashtra10.Wine tourism has been growing because of tourists interest and governments assistance to wine producers. The Resource Guide for start-up suggests that government officials have become aware of the wine industry’s potential to create economic opportunities in rural communities11.

• 12 Joshi V.K. & Attri Devendra, "Panorama of research and development of wines in India", Journal of (...)
• 13 Idem.

13In India, an impressive progress has been made in development of technologies for preparation of wines from grapes, mango, apple, peach, pear, plum, cashew –apple, pine apple, pomegranate, banana, berry, strawberry and kinnow12 by wine refers to the fermented-any but it may include (Vitis Vinifera) products of grapes undistilled alcoholic fruit product obtained after fermentation the amount of wine. Compared to grapes production of another fruits are very small. In India, wine industry is in infancy stage13. The alcoholic beverages with characteristic flavour of the particular fruit like apple, pear, plum, apricot, cherry and mango are broadly termed as fruit wines.

• 14 Brunori G. &. Rossi A., "Synergy and coherence through collective action: some insights from wine (...)

14The term wine route has a broader meaning from the tourist point of view which connects several wine producing regions. This route is further characterized by the natural attractions like mountains, hills, heritage place, vineyards, testing rooms, ethnic restaurants, and spiritual places nearby areas, local traditions and museums. In other words tourist following the wine route gets the opportunity to enjoy the wide range of experience like visiting vineyards, tasting of wine, wine making process, wine and food harmony, and local food and tradition. They can even try the culinary specialties of the region and buy products that characterize the area whilst enjoying the scenery14.

• 15 Fellows P., Food processing technology: Principles and practice, (2nd edition), Baca Raton, CRC pr (...)
• 16 Rose A.H., "Alcoholic beverage", Rose A.H. (ed.), Economic Microbiology I, Academic Press, UK, 199 (...)
• 17 FAO, Traditional fermented food and beverage for improved livelihoods, 2012.

17Fermented alcoholic beverages have been widely consumed by people in almost all countries for centuries15. These fermented beverages are usually prepared from locally available raw materials using age-old techniques16 and their art is believed to pass down by cultural and traditional values to subsequent generations with the processing being optimized through trial and error17.

• 21 Bennett L.A., Campillo, C. Chandrashekar C. R. and Gureje O., "Alcoholic Beverage Consumption in I (...)
• 22 Idem.
• 23 Mohan D., & Sharma H.K, "India", Heath D.B. (ed), International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture, W (...)
• 24 Marshall M. (dir.), Through a Glass Darkly: Beer and Modernization in Papua New Guinea, Boroko, Pa (...)

18Consumption practices of beverages vary substantially among different countries of the world. An understanding of such differences can help researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to develop prevention, diagnostic, and treatment measures as well as overall alcohol policies that are appropriate for a given country21. Alcoholic beverage consumption patterns vary considerably among different countries and even among different ethnic groups within one country. These variations in drinking patterns include, the types of beverages consumed and preferred, occasions associated with the consumption, drinking levels that are considered normal, and population subgroups for whom drinking is considered acceptable. Television, movies, and scholarly publications have depicted and investigated differences in drinking traditions to such an extent that people throughout the world are increasingly aware of drinking patterns in cultures other than their own of different ethnic backgrounds22. The consumption of alcoholic beverages in India predates British colonization. However, in comparison to other countries, alcohol consumption was not considered central to normal social life or daily meals in pre-colonial India. Nevertheless, in certain tribal groups throughout the country alcoholic beverages still are considered “a gift to humankind and, in turn, were reverently offered to the nature gods and other sacred powers”23.Each of the North Eastern States of India has a highly diverse and multicultural population, and major differences exist between their urban and rural areas. Moreover, the these states have distinct histories of traditional alcohol production and consumption as well as widely contrasting contemporary drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems24.

• 25 Castairs G.M., "Daru and bhang: Cultural factors in the choice of intoxicant", Marshall M. (ed), B (...)
• 26 Bennett L.A., Janca A., Grant B.F., and Sartorius N., "Boundaries between normal and pathological (...)
• 27 Medina-Mora M.E., Rascon M.L., Otero B.R. and Gutierrez E., "Patrones de Consumo", Gilbert M.J. (e (...)
• 28 Isaac M., "India", Grant M. (ed), Alcohol and Emerging Markets: Patterns, Problems, and Responses, (...)
• 29 Idem.
• 30 Idem.
• 31 Dorschner J., "Rajput alcohol use in India", Op. cit.
• 32 Sundaram K.R., Mohan D., Advani G.B., Sharma H.K. & Bajaj J.S., "Alcohol abuse in a rural communit (...)
• 33 Idem.
• 34 Idem.

19The different states of India have rich cultural variability with respect to ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. The drinking patterns observed in the nation reflects that variability, and results obtained in specific regions of each country can be generalized only to a limited extent. For example, one cannot accurately characterize the drinking patterns of all Indian ethnic and cultural groups based on findings for just one of those groups. In this research article, the information presented on consumption culture & practices is based on investigations conducted in Shillong, a city in the north eastern state of Meghalaya. Additional information on Indian drinking practices in this article is based on two ethnographic studies of alcohol consumption conducted among the Rajput, a military caste in north-western India25. In order to highlight the role that indigenous beverage consumption plays in a culture or country, researchers commonly use the terms “wet” and “dry.” Wet cultures are those in which alcohol consumption is a highly valued part of social life. Conversely, in dry cultures, alcohol consumption typically is considered aberrant behavior26. Some differences exist in the alcoholic beverage preferences of various population subgroups. For example, although both men and women drink, women tend to prefer wine. Also, young people consume beer and wine more frequently than other alcoholic beverages27. Few general population studies of alcohol consumption patterns have been conducted in India, and those that do exist were conducted primarily in the late 1970s, shortly after prohibition policies by the federal government and individual states were reversed. Furthermore, although various epidemiological studies have been conducted in specific regions of India, their generalizability to the entire country is questionable, at least in part because of methodological problems28. The most consistent finding in all of the studies was that men are the primary consumers of alcoholic beverages. However, the percentage of men who had consumed an alcoholic beverage in the previous year varied widely among different regions, ranging from 16.7 percent in Madras City in southern India to 49.6 percent in a Punjab village in northwest India29. Conversely, the alcohol consumption rates among women were consistently low (i.e., less than 5 percent)30. In a study of a clan of Rajput in the city of Khaalapur, Dorschner31 identified three types of drinkers: abstainers, social drinkers, and alcoholics. Of the men included in the study, 44.5 percent were abstainers, 16.4 percent were social drinkers, and 39.1 percent were heavy drinkers or alcoholics. Thus, although slightly more than one-half of the men consumed daru, spirit, or “English alcohol,” moderate social drinking was not the norm among those drinkers. In contrast, all the women in the study were abstinent. These overall drinking patterns are consistent with national epidemiological studies conducted in India but contrast sharply with those of Asian countries and many Western countries. One reason for the specific drinking patterns in India may be the strong advocacy of abstinence by Indian religious groups. For example, among the Hindus (who make up more than 80 percent of India’s population) alcoholic beverages are forbidden for Brahmins and other upper-caste groups who are strict vegetarians. Members of all other caste groups who are meat eaters (e.g., the warrior, farmer, and scavenger-untouchable castes) are permitted to drink. Muslims also are not supposed to drink, although some Muslim men consume alcohol. Finally, Buddhists and Jains, who are strict vegetarians, are forbidden to drink. In addition, political prohibition policies in certain states may contribute to Indian drinking patterns. Another epidemiological study conducted in the rural areas of Rajasthan demonstrated that although alcohol consumption had become accepted among men, it was still infrequent among women32. However, drinking by women was more accepted in certain castes, particularly on festive occasions, such as weddings33. In general, by the early 1980s alcohol consumption apparently had become an accepted leisure activity for men who were married and living in small families (i.e., husband, wife, and no more than three children) in this rural area34.