Grape Uses

Panneer Grapes: Wine, Juice, Raisins and Nashik Compared

By Harshavardhan Manavalan, Founder · Published 2026-10-05 · 3 min read

Uses reported for Panneer

DT Next (2020) lists four uses: table fruit, wine, juice and raisins, and says wine needs grapes at 24 degrees Brix. Krishi Jagran lists wine, spirits, jams, canned juice and raisins. The BananaIP note says the same.

The sources give few reasons. The Wikipedia page on Muscat grapes says the family is used for sparkling, fortified and dessert wines, for raisins, and for eating fresh. It also says Muscat of Hamburg is mainly a table grape worldwide, with California and China using it for wine.

A Great British Vineyards page adds a caution on wine. It says Muscat Hamburg wines "tend to be light and rather neutral", though richer dessert styles come from overripe grapes. So wine is possible, but the sources do not call it the grape's strongest use.

The market side

The reasons in Cumbum look commercial. DT Next (2020) says Kerala once bought about 80 percent of the crop, which fell to about 10 percent after the Mullaiperiyar dam dispute. One farmer there said a local winery bought grapes at Rs 15 a kilogram. That is one farmer's account from 2020 and may not apply today.

This suggests growers turn to wine, juice and raisins when fresh-fruit prices are weak. The report does not say this in so many words, so it is our reading.

Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka

An FAO-hosted page gives 2001-02 figures. Maharashtra produced about 911,600 tonnes from 32,500 hectares, Karnataka about 169,700 tonnes from 10,000 hectares, and Tamil Nadu about 51,700 tonnes from 2,400 hectares. It says about 80 percent of production came from Maharashtra. These figures are old and current numbers will be different.

The climate groups also differ, per a National Horticulture Board page:

Maharashtra is hot tropical, with double pruning and a single harvest. Nashik, Sangli, Solapur and Pune lead.
Northern Karnataka is hot tropical, while the Bangalore and Kolar districts are mild tropical.
Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore, Madurai, Theni) is mild tropical, with two crops a year for most varieties apart from Thompson Seedless.

Nashik

The National Horticulture Board brochure says Nashik grape harvest runs from early February to early April, and that the district supplies about 73 percent of Maharashtra's grape production and 82 percent of its exports. It names Thompson Seedless, Sonaka, Sharad Seedless and Tas-e-Ganesh, and 43 raisin units. It says Nashik Valley Wine received a GI in 2008.

Wikipedia says the Nashik grape received a GI in 2010-11. Area figures conflict: the brochure says more than 1 lakh hectares, while Wikipedia says about 1.75 lakh hectares in 2015. We cannot reconcile them.

How Cumbum differs

Nashik is built around a Feb-April harvest, export orders and seedless varieties. Cumbum is built around one seeded variety, harvested across much of the year according to growers. The Cumbum area is also small: the Theni district plan reports 1,759 hectares.

Karnataka sits between them. Its north resembles Maharashtra, while its Bangalore region grows Bangalore Blue, mostly for juice.

None of this says one region is better. They are different crops, climates and markets, and the figures here come from sources of different ages.

Frequently asked questions

Are Panneer grapes used for wine?

Yes, reports say wine, juice and raisins are made from them. A UK source says Muscat Hamburg wines tend to be light and rather neutral.

Is Tamil Nadu a big grape state?

Not compared with Maharashtra or Karnataka. A 2001-02 FAO-hosted page shows Tamil Nadu well behind both, and those figures are dated.

When is the Nashik grape harvest?

The NHB brochure says early February to early April.

Sources

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