Mangaluru: A 3 days ‘Wine Fest,’  begins at Kadri Park to educate the public on wine and its advantage on human health. The event is jointly organised by Karnataka State Horticulture Department and Karnataka Wine Board for the first time in the city from November 26 to 28.

District in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai inaugurated three-day wine festival.

Addressing the gathering, Rai said, Mangaluru is one of the fastest growing cities in the state. Grape wine is good for health. I wish this three-day fest becomes a grand success.”

Chief whip of the legislative council, Ivan D’Souza said, People have wrong notion that wine is not good for health. Anything which is consumed in excess is not good for health. Thus if consumed within limit, wine has many proven health benefits. Events like the wine festival would encourage wine grape cultivation in the state. I wish success to this maiden wine fest here in Mangaluru.”

As many as 10 wineries from Karnataka and 3 from Maharashtra take part in the event. Good quality wine will be showcased and sold at 10% discount. Training programs on wine making, seminars, works on wine production and other programs have also been arranged. Over 40 brands of red wine, white wine and sparkling wine are available at the stalls.

Karntaka is the only state which has a separate wine board to support wine production in the state. Prior to the establishment of the wine board 5 lakh liter wine was produced each year. However, after the establishment of wine board the production was increased to 1 crore liter per year. For the time-being 17 wineries are functioning in the state. Grapes are being grown in the state on an area of 2,000 acres.

There will be cultural events after 7 PM till the end of the event.