Educational visit to Suma Homemade Wines: Department of P.G Studies in Food Science and Nutrition

The Department of P.G Studies in Food Science and Nutrition organized an industrial visit for the M.Sc. students (16 in no) accompanied by 2 teaching faculty on 12th January 2024 to Suma Homemade Wines located in Nanjarayapatna near Dubbare town of Mysore district..

The Suma wines is run by Mr. Sumesh TK who is the secretary of Coorg Autonomous Council for Homemade Wine preparation. Mr. Sumesh first explained to the students the heritage of homemade wines in Coorg where he told them about the age-old tradition of brewing wine from different food sources as a vital part of Kodava culture & to preserve it they came up with the Coorg Autonomous Council for Homemade Wine that permits the sales of wine in the areas of Coorg without special taxes from the excise department. He even told the students that due to the council, there is no requirement to test homemade wines for alcoholic content & there is no restriction on permissible alcohol limit in the case of Coorg Wines. The wines prepared at a small scale level are claimed to be non-alcoholic in nature and produced due to natural fermentation. Mr. Sumesh started the business along with his mother Suma who explained and demonstrated how to prepare homemade grape wine.

Around 1 kg of black grapes was taken, it was washed thoroughly and pat dried. The dried grapes with the skin were blended into a smooth paste. Meanwhile, a sugar solution was prepared with a 1:1 ratio, and when warm the grape pulp was mixed to it. To the mixture, a pinch was food-grade yeast was added to start the fermentation process followed by a piece of potato or a tsp of wheat granules to act as a starch source. To the same mixture, 1 cubed lemon is added to regulate the acidity of the solution and balance the pH. The lemon plays a key role in providing smoothness to the wine. The mixture is transferred to a plastic tumbler covered with a clean cloth and closed with the lid. It is left undisturbed for 15 days, after which the top frothy layer formed due to fermentation is carefully removed it is stirred well, and again left for the second stage of fermentation. After which they are transferred to sterilized glass bottles, sealed, and stored at room temperature for sale. The student even tasted the homemade grape wine.The Suma wines before COVID-19 sold nearly 22 varieties of homemade wines, whereas now it has been declined to one variety of grape wine. They sell wines only in 750ml brown-coloured bottles. They label their wines with a brand name, FSSAI logo, and date of manufacture, rate, and ingredients used, and so on. The visit to Suma Wines gave exposure to students on wine preparation in a minimal cost & least equipment usage.