Thursday, March 14, 2024

116. Nashik Grapes

Nashik grapes have an attractive appearance, conical shaped, loose yet well filled bunches, conical bold, fleshy and elongated berries with thin and soft skin, crisp pulp, with few seeds or seedless. 

Nashik Grape is botanically a berry, and further botanical classification of Nashik Grapes is as below

Kingdom   : Plantae

Phylum     : Magnoliphyta.

Class        : Magnoliopsida.

Order        : Vitales

Family      : Vitaceae.

Genus      : Vitis

Species    : Vinifera L

In early 1925, the table grape revolution was started in Ojhar, a small town near Nashik, by Raosaheb Jairam Krishna Gaikwad. Today, table grapes are exported to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Table Grapes are also used to make Raisins and Juices.

The catchment areas of grape production in Nashik District are Kalvan, Peint Igatpuri, Sinnar, Niphad, Yeola, Nandgaon, Satana, Surgana, Dindori and Malegaon. The soil in this microclimatic zone consists of red soil with good drainage conditions. It is said that the water quality is also very suitable for growing high-quality grapes.

Grapes are consumed freshly. There are seven different varieties of grapes grown in Nashik. They are

  • Thompson Seedless – Green in Colour, Meidum Sweet, Bigger and Round in Shape
  • TAS – A – Ganesh – Green in Colour, Bitter in Taste, Oval in Shape
  • Sonaka – Green in Color, Very Sweet in Taste, Long in Shape
  • Manik Chaman – Green in Colour, Sweet and Bitter, Not much Round in Shape
  • Sharad Seedless – Black in Colour, Sweet in Taste, Shape Round and Big
  • Jumbo Seedless – Black in Colour, Sweet in Taste, Oval in Shape
  • Black Sonaka – Black in Colour, Very Sweet in Taste, Round and Long in shape

Due to cold winters in November, there is acid formation in grapes. So the fruit which gets ripened during this season have high level of acid and low level of pH. This contributes to good quality of grapes and wines. There is good ratio of sugar and acid present in Nashik Grapes. 

Some of the grape varieties are exceptionally rich in chemicals having medicinal properties, such as resveratrol and anthocyanins. These compounds have been reported to have antioxidant properties and can prevent heart diseases, cancers and even diabetes through reduced insulin resistance.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 06 October 2010

GI Tag Number                         : 165

Certificate Number                  : 140

Geographical Area                  : Maharashtra

Special Cover Release Date   : 31 August 2021

Cancellation                             : Nashik 422 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : MH/23/2021

Enlarged View of Illustration

Enlarged View of Cancellation

Back Side Scan

India post has also issued few special covers on Nashik Grapes (not an exhaustive list but only items from my collection)

India Post Special Cover on Nashik Grapes
Cancelled at Nashik 422 001 on 17 January 2016



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