Wine and dine: How these Mumbaikars started making their own wine for Christmas

The Covid-19 pandemic made a lot of people take up new hobbies that they probably had at the back of their mind but never really pursued due to the lack of time. One of the many is Dadar-based Sharon D'sylva. The 34-year-old's parents used to make wine throughout the year, but she had never really taken the initiative herself till the pandemic to make it on her own. She explains, "I started making wine during the lockdown in 2020 because I had free time. I grew up watching my parents always make grape wine. It is something that is very common and done in most Catholic homes and served to guests during Christmas."

Along with cake-mixing, winemaking is one tradition that many people from Mumbai's Catholic community take up throughout the year but more during this time to indulge in the festive spirit. As Christmas is around the corner, many Mumbaikars are busy getting their wine ready for the day. While some have been doing it for many years, there are others like D'sylva, who have only taken it up recently and are enjoying every part of the process.

Pandemic-induced winemaking
Ever since the winemaking bug bit her, D'sylva takes every opportunity to experiment with colours and flavours. Her recipes are a mix of both family and the ones available online, which she combines to suit her liking. Interestingly, the city-based winemaker does not only make wine with grapes but also with pineapples, rice and strawberry, which was an experiment. It is no different for the pineapple wine, which is not as common as grape, rice or ginger wine, but one that the MNC professional was inspired to try out after she saw a Facebook post and after some research decided to make her own version of the wine.

"Even though pineapple wine sounds fruity, it is pretty strong compared to your grape wine, which comes out mild. Rice wine is quite subtle and looks very pretty because it has this nice Champagne colour to it," she shares. Pineapple wine, she explains, looks like rice wine but is a bit more yellow, and one won't get the taste of the fruit while drinking it but is more of an after-taste after consuming the wine.

For D'sylva, who has always been interested in baking, winemaking just happened to be something that came along the way. "I was very happy with how you can mix and match the flavours and how it comes out to be. If you actually taste a pineapple and have pineapple wine, unless you think about the flavour that you have had, you wouldn't know it is made from the fruit. It would also be evident if the aroma is really strong, which is usually at the beginning because as it matures the aroma will reduce." Since making wine is more of a hobby, she doesn't make it commercially. However, her friends are lucky to get a batch from her because she makes bottles for them only on request or when she has to gift someone.

Mulled wine for the festive season
Interestingly, India's traditions aren't limited to a particular community because of the confluence of cultures and people from other communities also soak in the festivities during this time of the year. It has been something like that for Worli-based Swati Pandit Iyer, who hails from north India, but has called Mumbai her home for more than 20 years. Through it all, she doesn't miss enjoying festivities with friends and family with food and drink but the star happens to be mulled wine which has always featured in her celebrations.

While others make the traditional wine much in advance, she makes the no-fuss mulled wine, a day or few hours before any party. Pandit traces her fondness for wine to her younger days when her family used to enjoy festivities with the alcohol. "In Delhi, my uncle and aunt would make various types of wine at home with different ingredients," she says. While they don't do it anymore, it is something that has organically passed on to her but more specifically the mulled variety, which she was first exposed to overseas.

She explains, "The first time I ever tried mulled wine was when I studied in the United Kingdom almost 20 years ago and really enjoyed it while being surrounded by this Christmas market." At that time, Iyer didn't know many people who were doing it here, so, she would just make it around this time of the year or for when she went to somebody's house for Christmas. "Even though we particularly don't celebrate Christmas at home, I do enjoy the spirit. Since I anyway do a little baking, I said why not try it out. I just make it for friends and family," she adds.

So, how does she make her mulled wine? She explains, "It is not a recipe that takes too long to make. It doesn't have to be an expensive red wine. The key is to let it simmer and make sure it doesn't boil. You can pick and choose the kind of spice you want to add to it. My favourites are cloves, star anise and peppercorns. Some people even use cardamom, but I am not a huge fan of it. I add a little brandy but you can also substitute it with rum or whiskey. I have also started putting honey with a few slices of orange to it and let it simmer for one hour. It is ideal to have it warm."

Sipping on year-long aged wine
While Pandit makes it a day prior, D'sylva started working on her wine for Christmas a little less than two months ago. "I started making my grape wine at the start of November because the first part takes 21 days. I stirred the mixture every day and at the end of it, and removed the grape pulp. I have left to settle for another good 30 days. So that we have a fresh bottle of wine ready for Christmas dinner." While the grape wine is settling, her family has already started making the sweets, which they always make at home. In fact, the guava cheese is all ready and waiting to be feasted on. Post-Christmas festivities, D'sylva is keen on experimenting with ginger and strawberry wine, which is perfect for the winter season.

In Vasai, Helen Almeida has been making wine for over 10 years now. She starts as early as the beginning of the year to get the most out of it. She shares, "My raisin wine includes black raisins with sugar and yeast which is soaked and boiled in water and later filtered before use. I like to start my wine making process early in the year so that the wine gets ample time to mature for the festive seasons."

It may not have been a tradition in her family but Almeida decided to make it one. "I was quite intrigued to try making wine since I love experimenting in the kitchen. So, I started a small batch as a hobby, grew to like it and decided to add my own twists. I soon realised my family loved it too," explains Almeida. Ever since she started, the 59-year-old has not only made raisin wine but very often makes wine out of ginger, rice, honey, lychee and pineapple too.

There is so much written about different kinds of wine and food pairings but what does homemade wine pair best with? Almeida shares, "It goes without saying that homemade wine with homemade food is the best! If you love snacking you can pair it with chips and dip, crackers and cheese, fried chicken, pizza and even chocolate." Since we're right in the middle of the festive season, she says it can also be used to make sangria or simply be used to cook various other dishes.

Read More: Mumbai chefs, sommelier tell you how to pair your wine with your food