By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The president of Forever Young, which organises the annual Wine Festival in the city, Michael Syiem, on Saturday informed that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has shown interest in promoting local wine and they are waiting for the government to legalise wine-making.
It was an evening of rain, music and an array of homemade local wines at the festival yet again on the premises of State Central Library.
The festival, which is a hit among the wine lovers in the city, continued to entice the crowd as a good number of them dropped by on Saturday braving the rain. Some of the popular flavours were strawberry, apple, banana, ginger, and local fruits. Besides, cherry brandy was also available. The visitors were allowed to taste the wine before buying the one of their taste. Syiem also said that the organisation is hopeful that the chief minister will take steps to legalise wine-making in the state.
The wine festival is an annual event which aims to promote the local brew. Those who put up stalls at the festival find the response good and also see it as an opportunity to interact with other wine makers and enrich and share their knowledge on wine-making. It’s been 17 years since the Shillong Wine festival is being organised by the Forever Young Club to promote local wine but surprisingly the state
government till date has not legalised fruit wine-making which could have provided a lot of employment opportunities to the local wine makers.
Meanwhile, sources said that the state government was charging Rs 1500 for temporary license bar but now it has been increased to Rs 15000.