Shillong, Nov 14 (ANI): Enthusiasts turned up in large numbers to get a taste of exclusive varieties of homemade wines during the two-day long sixth wine festival held here.

The festival began on Friday.

Wine made from locally available sohiong (black cherry), ginger, mulberry fruit, strawberry, litchi, pineapple, passion fruit, blackberry, plum, banana and even jackfruit were fermented to produce wines during the two-day festival.

The public was seen enjoying flavors derived from the fruit wine along with music in the background to keep the wine lovers pleased.

"Local wines have their own unique taste; the wine that we buy from the market is very different from the wine that the locals make here, which tastes very nice. I somehow prefer to taste the local wine," said M Bobby Dey, a visitor at the festival.

He said that events like this will endorse wine in India and will inform the enthusiasts about the different varieties of local wine.

Tanya Garnham, a wine taster from Canada, who attended the festival, said that the wine was very different from that made in Canada.

"Wine is defined as anything that is made from grapes and the difference is that ours is made with grapes and the local wine like this would be technically called fruit wine. Whereas when you are calling something wine, it has got to be made with grapes. So that is the main difference between us and the local wine made here," said Garnham.

The varieties displayed in the festival were pure and healthy and free from any chemical preservatives.

The two-day festival provided an opportunity for the local wine makers not only to showcase their brewing skills in wine making, but also to open market linkages. (ANI)