Telangana Minister for Prohibition and Excise, Tourism, Culture and Archaeology Jupally Krishna Rao visited Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg, Virginia, and undertook a cellar tour to study its operations as part of efforts to explore the potential for developing wine tourism in Telangana.
Mr. Rao interacted with winery representatives and enquired about grape cultivation, varieties suitable for wine production, processing and fermentation techniques, storage, ageing, bottling, quality control and marketing. He also studied how vineyards and wineries are integrated with tourism through guided tours, hospitality and curated visitor experiences.
The Minister said Rangareddy and Vikarabad districts have potential for vineyard and winery-based tourism, given their proximity to Hyderabad and prospects for grape cultivation. Suitable locations, climatic conditions and investment models would be studied before taking the initiative forward.
“Wine tourism can offer a distinctive visitor experience while supporting grape growers, attracting private investment and generating local employment,” Mr. Rao said.
The initiative is in line with the Telangana Tourism Policy 2025–30, which seeks to diversify the State’s tourism offerings and promote new tourism products through private and public-private partnership investments.
At the Telangana Tourism Conclave, projects worth over ₹15,000 crore were unveiled, including a first-of-its-kind vineyard resort with a winery walkthrough experience. The proposed project is envisaged to offer visitors an insight into the entire wine-making process — from grape harvesting to bottling — along with a hands-on traditional grape-stomping experience.
Mr. Rao said successful international models and best practices would be studied to develop a suitable wine tourism ecosystem in Telangana, integrating vineyards, hospitality and local cuisine, while adhering to the State’s regulatory framework.
Government Whip Yennam Srinivas Reddy and Tandur MLA Buyyani Manohar Reddy accompanied the Minister during the visit.
