I  was shocked when I heard wine described as sharaab on a Hindi TV channel that had interviewed me at the launch of our Club two and a half years ago. The anchor described the launching of the Delhi Wine Club as great news for sharaab consumers in Delhi. Obviously wine was being clubbed as a generic alcoholic beverage, usually reserved for hard liquors.

I had spent my impressionable years believing that consuming alcohol was a taboo morally, socially and even from the religious point of view, though I found it neither odd nor negative in others drinking provided they could hold their liquor. I started drinking wine socially and primarily as it was the lesser evil, alcoholic content being the major parameter. Once the health aspects became more appealing, its synergies with food more apparent and the excitement of variety in the wonderful world of wine caught up with me there was no looking back. And, the reference of wine as sharaab kept on becoming even more disturbing.

Genesis of this misnomer is perhaps reflected in the thousands of Wines Shops from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, where one can find a variety of spirits and liquor but no wine. In the West, demarcation is quite clear between beer, wine and liquor. A liquor store may also sell wine but one does not find hard liquor in wine stores. Also taxation laws in many countries recognize the lower alcohol content of beer and wines by taxing them lower for levels less than 14%. It is heartening to note that Maharashtra Government has reduced sales tax on wine (though Indian produce only) from 20% to 4%. This is a good sign of accepting wine as an agricultural product.

Wine is nothing but fermented grape juices. It is really an extension of agricultural products. In fact in Spain it is considered as food while in Italy it is a part of the food. In France, it is an integral part of lifestyle though it has recently become a controversial issue due to the increasing alcoholism resulting from high levels of consumption. Wines are getting more popular and we need to re-look and re-define the proper Hindi translation of 'Wine'. Surely it should not be sharaab , with occasional derogatory implications and which generally refers to spirits or hard liquor. Wine Bars have already opened up in Mumbai and Bangalore etc. and soon we should see them in Delhi . Would it be palatable to name them ‘Sharaab Ghar'?

The word ‘wine' is derived from the Latin ‘Vin' which literally translated means grapevine. In the strictest sense, it implies fermentation of juice of grapes only and not apple, plum, blueberries or other fruits or even rice. It is not technically correct to call it an apple wine, plum wine or rice wine (Japanese sake). An interesting interpretation offered by the previous Ambassador of Italy in India was that the word derives from a Sanskrit word, Van, meaning love and desire. In Indian mythology one reads about Gods drinking 'Som Ras' which was presumably wine. Another word that comes close is madira, though Madeira also refers to fortified Portuguese wine made by heating wine to 50 deg.C.

French call it Vin, Italians call it vino, Spanish call it vin? a ,Germans call it wein , and the English- speaking world calls it wine. Shouldn't we stick to the ‘Sanskrit parentage' and stick to ' Va-ii-N'? And leave it at that!!

After all, Sharaab may be kharaab…but wine sure is fine! In limited measures, of course. Please share your Views with us.

Subhash Arora