A Story of Passion and Fruit: Naara Aaba, India’s First Kiwi Winery

What happens when you have a pristine climate, unparalleled geography, natural harvest, and the skills and passion for turning that harvest into a sip of relish? A one-of-a-kind winery is born. Naara Aaba - a brainchild of husband and wife Takhe Tamo and Tage Rita Takhe is India’s first Kiwi winery in Zio, Arunachal Pradesh. Founded in 2017, the name holds deep significance—"Naara” refers to the place, while “Aaba” means father. “It means father of the place and is dedicated to my father-in-law, who was lovingly called Naara Aaba by all his grandchildren,” says founder Tage Rita. 

The idea of starting a winery came from passion and necessity for the couple. "Tamo is a visionary, and I am a realistic person. He loves wine and wanted to set up a winery of our own. During those days, a lot of kiwi fruits grown by farmers were going to waste due to a lack of proper market linkage, and we wanted to save it,” shares Tage Rita.

But the excitement of starting a new venture came with a big hurdle. At that time, the husband and wife were inexperienced in winemaking and had little to no knowledge about it. Despite all the odds, the couple was determined to bring out the best of Ziro's freshness. They have their own orchard where they grow fruits like kiwi, plum, pear, wild apple, and guava and source some from local farmers. All this produce is converted into fine wine. 

Producing a bottle of Naara Aaba wine is a meticulous process that uses modern technology. The journey begins with harvesting fruits, followed by cleaning, sorting, grading, and washing. Then comes the crucial steps of crushing, fermentation, racking, cold stabilisation, clarification, and optional ageing. The final stages include filtration, bottling, labelling, and packaging, ensuring each bottle meets the highest quality standards. 

All these require special skills and attention to detail, which is taken care of by both youth and elderly women from the village. “These people come to do most of the cleaning and other manual work, and we have young boys who handle the heavy work with machines and equipment with the guidance of a professional winemaker,” says the founder. 

All this results in a bottle of fresh fruit wine like no other. What makes it even more distinctive is the untouched natural environment of Arunachal Pradesh. “Our state has the most pristine environment with the purest air, water, and soil. This definitely affects the quality of the fruit and, ultimately, the wine,” notes Tage Rita. Also, Naara Aaba sticks to a simple philosophy—pure fruit in bulk without added preservatives and a controlled process. This beautiful process of winemaking can be witnessed by the visitors as Naara Aaba offers a winery tour in their winery situated in Hong village in, Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh.

With a strong foundation and growing demand, Naara Aaba has ambitious plans for the future. “We plan to expand and upgrade the unit into a state-of-the-art, world-class winery setup,” reveals Tage Rita. But beyond commercial success, the brand also envisions giving back to the community. “We also want to establish a wine academy to educate and contribute to society,” she adds.

Naara Aaba is not just about winemaking—it’s about preserving tradition, empowering communities, and redefining India’s fruit wine industry, one bottle at a time.