A Canadian consultant with more than 40 years experience in the international wine-making industry has praised the efforts of local wine-maker Warren Douglas and his Pandama brand, describing the wines manufactured from a range of local fruit as “having the potential to be world class” products.
Ron Taylor, who has completed a two-week consultancy with the Pandama wine operation at Madewini on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway told Stabroek Business he believes that at least 30% of the international wine market would be keen on the Pandama product. Taylor’s attachment to Pandama, aimed at enhancing the quality of the wines, was funded by the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO).
According to Taylor, while Douglas already has a good product he has been able to impart knowledge which now enables Douglas to move away from the strict formula with which he has been working. “We are now in a position where we can control quality,” Taylor told Stabroek Business. Douglas said what Taylor had done was to place the Pandama operation in a position where it could predetermine the quality of the product.
And according to Douglas, apart from the knowledge imparted to him by the CESO consultant he had also received from Taylor a number of gifts of pieces of equipment which will assist in ensuring the quality of wines he produces. Douglas said the improvement in the quality of the Pandama product as well as the enhancement of his own knowledge of wine-making in the wake of Taylor’s arrival had been “immediate.”
Taylor told Stabroek Business that while, generally, the Pandama wines were of a high standard, he felt that the jamoon wine was a product of outstanding quality. He said that in circumstances where nothing else of substance was being done in the regional wine industry, the Pandama product offered Guyana an outstanding opportunity to create another export product.
Douglas said that as part of the process of “learning more” about the wine-making industry he has taken a decision to shelve some of the wines in order to concentrate on others. “We are going to be focusing a lot of energy on the jamoon product. Apart from what Ron Taylor has told us other people here in Guyana have expressed a likeness for the jamoon flavor,” he said.
Douglas disclosed that Pandama expects to treble the 100 gallons of jamoon wine which it placed on the local market for Christmas last year. He said that a year ago Pandama may have underestimated the extent of the seasonal demand for the product.
Meanwhile, Taylor, whose 40 years in the business includes 20 years in the manufacture of fruit wines told Stabroek Business that while the demand for fruit wines is unlikely to reach the traditional grape wine demand, it was growing in some parts of the world. He said there are around 100 fruit wineries in Canada.
Meantime, Douglas said his immediate focus will be on translating the knowledge that he has secured from Taylor’s visit to Guyana to further improve the quality of the Pandama product. “Our biggest success lies in the fact that we can now check the progress of the process and secure consistent results. Part of the enhancement process also includes the manufacture of “pure, clear wine,” Douglas said.