As a much published travel writer, the burgeoning growth of wine tourism amazes me no end! Many of my colleagues in Europe who are into travel journalism, have been promoting their vineyards in upscale travel publications like Conde Nast, Travel+Leisure, Natgeo and what have you... In today’s connected world, who doesn’t know about the vineyards of Bordeaux, Chateau de Berne, Tuscany, Barossa Valley, to name just a few?

Being a past native of India’s North East by birth and having spent my formative years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh – two of India’s most remote states, I can vouch for the fact that the region is undoubtedly India’s next big “Gastronomy & Wine” tourism destination as it is blessed with centuries old wine brewing/vinification culture and the indigenous tribes, numbering around 145, have since ancient times been brewing quality wines in their own homesteads and loghuts.

In fact, the sheer variety of locally produced wines in India’s North East is beyond belief – dragon fruit, black cherry, meyna laxiflora. The tribal people of the North East, like the Nagas, Monpas, Kacharis, Bodos, Kukis, amongst others, consider winemaking an art. This has been acknowledged by the recent GI tag on Assam’s “Judima” brew, which for centuries together has been the signature drink of the Dimasa tribe.

Leaving aside the Tourism Ministry’s indifference when it comes to identifying potential tourist circuits and incubating them until they mature as destinations, it has taken a tribal woman – Tage Rita, to show the world what the North East of India is capable of in terms of launching ground-breaking tourism concepts like wine tourism.

A visit to the unheard of Hong village in Zero Valley of Arunachal Pradesh is a revelation; revelation in the context of India’s nascent Wine Tourism landscape! Rita setup her winery at this miniscule Apatani village of Hong back in 2017, from where she and her dedicated team manufacture one of the best varieties of wine, Naara Aaba kiwi wine to be precise.

Needless to say, the initial days were tremendously tough for Rita. She set up on a mission that nobody in India had ever attempted before - manufacturing kiwi wine in the backdrop of unforgiving mountainous terrain, transportation bottlenecks and locals totally ignorant about the huge potential of kiwi fruit as an ingredient of wine.

It took years for India to acknowledge the availability of kiwi fruit that grew in the wilds of Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro Valley, where the fruit grew abundantly, given the fertile land and ideal climatic conditions. In local Apatani parlance, kiwi fruit is referred to as “Anteri” and it was only after the emergence of wine connoisseur Tage Rita that farmers began to cultivate kiwi fruit in an organised manner.

Kiwi is an exotic fruit and in New Zealand this fruit is referred to as the “Horticulture Wonder”. This small country in the Southwest Pacific has shown the world how to tap into its commercial potential. The Guardian newspaper recently brought out an exclusive coverage on New Zealand’s kiwi fruit and mentions the fact that originally the kiwi fruit is of Chinese origin. It was brought to New Zealand in 1904, flourished in the ideal climatic conditions, and by 1950 New Zealand began exporting this exotic fruit worldwide.

Hong village is located in the bastion of the Apatanis, one of India’s fascinating tribal communities in the picturesque Ziro Valley, which is on the UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites. This remote village has a mysterious charm and is sparsely populated. Visitors can witness traditional Indian tribal village administration and how the entire village is governed through the village Sarpanch, where a native woman is stirring up a storm in the global wine tourism landscape through her signature kiwi wine – Naara Aaba. For the first-time visitors to Tage Rita’s winery at Hong village, the scenario is one of utter disbelief – a remotely located winery in Village India producing one of the nation’s best wines by using highly sophisticated wine-making technology. The sight of local Apatani folks exerting themselves and collecting the wonder fruit from the neighbourhood orchards is every bit inspiring. You get a first-hand feel of the hardy mountain life of India’s North East as well as the native people’s connection with Mother Nature.

Every ingredient used in manufacturing of the Naara Aaba wine is organic and certified. In the words of the connoisseur herself:

All the vitamins and minerals that the Kiwi has when it’s raw, we got that in the wine itself.

If you watch the manufacturing process at the winery, you will observe that the kiwis aren’t peeled. This is a mandatory requirement at the Naara Aaba winery and is done with the objective of retaining the fruit nutrients into the wine. Every bottle of the Naara Aaba wine has a sticker attached, listing all the ingredients and vitamins.

Buoyed by the overwhelming response from the global wine community, Tage Rita’s signature Naara Aaba brand has now diversified into manufacturing of apple, peach, pear and plum wines as well. What an amazing turnaround for a lady who was once on the brink of bankruptcy!

Rita herself hails from a family of farmers and since her childhood days was exposed to the vagaries of nature, of farmers committing suicides due to poor crop yields as well as the phenomenon of urban migration, with a large chunk of the educated youths choosing to migrate to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, little realizing the fact that their own backyard was a rich storehouse of wealth!

The state of Arunachal Pradesh is best known for its raw and fascinating indigenous tribes. Anthropologists worldwide have acknowledged that the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, numbering around 26 and with hundreds of sub-tribes make this region of India an “Anthropological Hotspot”. A visit to Arunachal Pradesh isn’t just another holiday that you embark upon. Rather, it is an assault on your senses, an experience of stupendous dimensions where even today you can experience century’s old practice of Ancestor Worship, Shamanism, black magic and tribal tattooing.

If you mix up wine tourism with Indigenous tourism, the blend makes for a heady concoction. And, that’s exactly what wine connoisseur Tage Rita has accomplished – providing a breath of fresh air to India Tourism viz-a-viz her indigenous Kiwi Wine – Naara Aaba.

The kind of mindset Rita has and her global vision towards showcasing her home state, Arunachal Pradesh, at the altar of world tourism is amazing. I wouldn’t be surprised if wine festivals and events offering tourists with opportunities to visit her orchards, indulging in wine tasting activities and spicing up itineraries with elements of tribal culture, folklore and traditions are proposed for the benefit of tourists visiting her enchanting land.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Government of Italy recently organized the UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism wherein it was acknowledged that wine tourism experts worldwide should work together and find out solutions and make this segment more enabled, sustainable, and inclusive.
As the global tourism industry becomes more competitive, perhaps the time has come for the emergence of exceptional regional cultural heritages to come to the forefront as it is widely believed in the tourism fraternity that local intangible culture and heritage will play a decisive role as far as attracting the attention of the discerning world traveller.

In India’s North East and particularly Arunachal Pradesh, wine-making has been an integral part of their history and now with the advent of people of the stature of Tage Rita, the region’s wine tourism circuits too should reflect in the overall brand image of Arunachal Pradesh as it will offer a tremendous opportunity for the state to revitalize its tourism industry and promote extensive local economic development. After all, wine tourism is all about preserving local vernacular traditions, cultural diversity, and authenticity.

As a much published travel writer and a onetime native of Arunachal Pradesh, I have been witness to the burgeoning growth of the global Wine Tourism industry. Now, with the UNWTO’s focus on developing this sector and making it an integral segment of the billion dollar tourism industry, I am hopeful that India’s Indigenous/tribal capital Arunachal Pradesh will play a pioneering role in this incredible journey that promises to catapult India’s tourism to even greater heights.

Rita and others of her ilk are endeavouring to safeguard not just their intrinsic tribal culture but also spruce up the state’s fledgling economy through indigenous innovation. In 2018, Rita was the proud recipient of the prestigious “Women Transforming India” award instituted by the United Nations. Who would have thought that a farmer’s daughter from a faraway mountain village in India’s Arunachal Pradesh would one day become a beacon of hope for the global sustainable agriculture/forestry community?

For now, let me order my first ever “Made in India” Naara Aaba Kiwi Wine and wait with bated breath for the consignment to arrive at my doorsteps. Till then, Cheers to India’s North East!