“This is one of the best things I have done,” says Anu Patrick, consultant chef at Planet Cuisine, about her organic home-made wines.
Patrick, who has loved cooking from a very young age, moved to Coimbatore from Kerala after her marriage. “Both my mother and grandmother are good cooks. I got my interest from them. I experimented with biriyani, payasam, pickles and other Kerala delicacies but was not interested in wine till two years ago.” She first made her wine for her son’s first communion. “It was 75 litres of grape wine for the guests. I received much appreciation and so I made 50 bottles for friends last year.” This year, she has introduced eight different flavours, each fermented for around two months.
Patrick says that the process begins with cleaning the fruits. “Then I add sugar, wheat, spices and water and store it in earthen pots for a specified time to let it ferment. The pots are covered with a clean cotton cloth and sealed tight. Light is not good for wine so the pots are kept in a dark room. I also sell it in tinted glass bottles.” Her mixed fruit wine contains bananas, grapes, pineapple, apple and pomegranate. “I add dried orange and lemon peel for flavour to my ginger wine. The time for fermentation depends on the fruit. While pineapple and banana need only 15 days, gooseberry and dry grape will take at least 41 days to attain strength. The older the wine, the stronger it will be.”
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Patrick procures gooseberry and grapes directly from farmers. “I get spices like cardamom, pepper and nutmeg from my farm in Kerala.” She emphasises that she does not add any artificial food colouring, preservatives or alcohol. “For gooseberry and ginger wine, I use palm sugar instead of regular sugar. This is my grandmother’s traditional recipe.” She also uses caramelised sugar in her grape and mixed fruit wine for the rich golden colour. The dry grape wine “is what we get in church. I got the recipe from the nuns at my church.”
Patrick tells me that her customers include home-makers, breast-feeding mothers, pregnant women, beauticians and cancer patients. “ Breast-feeding mothers ask for grape while pregnant women ask for gooseberry. Beauticians use the wine for facials. Pineapple and grapes are my best-selling wines. Customers who buy it usually come asking for more.”
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She has sold around 150 bottle in the last two months and “have around 200 orders for Christmas.” She claims a shelf life of one year for her wine if refrigerated and three months if not. She plans to include more flavours in the future. “I plan to add aloe vera, pomegranate, passion fruit and herbs-and-spices wine.”
Wine for you
The eight flavours are grape, pineapple, gooseberry, beetroot, banana, mixed fruit, dry grape and ginger.
Available in 750ml and one litre bottles.
The price ranges from ₹200-₹ 250.
She delivers anywhere in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Call 9698801234 to place an order or visit EATZ-Anoo’s Kitchen on Facebook