On February 26th of this year, I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in the second edition of the SLOW WINE FAIR that was held at BolognaFiere in Italy, along with a few of my Italian friends. It is well known that Italy produces some of the best wines in the world. There were over 250 organic and biodynamic wineries that were certified to attend this exhibition, and they came from 20 different countries. During the course of our visit to the exhibition, we were given the chance to sample a variety of wines selected from the 2,300 labels that were brought from around the world.

I had the opportunity to speak with a few of those wineries' representatives. It is very exciting to learn that some of them travelled to Sri Lanka in order to enjoy a holiday there. I am filled with gratitude for their kind words regarding my homeland.

Fabio Ferracane is the founder of a winery in Marsala, Sicily, and his family has a long history of making wine. He has created a series of wines under the brand names Macerato, Guanciabianca, Magico, and others, and he believes that Sri Lanka is the most beautiful country in the world to visit.

I take advantage of the opportunity to inform those wineries about toddy, which is an organic and natural alcoholic beverage originating in Sri Lanka that is comparable to wine.

Toddy is the most traditional form of alcoholic beverage in Sri Lanka, which referred to as "ra" in the country. The sap that is collected from palm plants is used to make a relatively innocuous beverage that contains only 4% to 6% alcohol. (The fermentation of sap results in the production of toddy.)

The sap that is extracted from the coconut plant (Cocos nucifera), the Asian palmyrah plant (Borassus flabellifer), and the solitary fishtail plant (Caryota urens) is used to make toddy in Sri Lanka. All three of these plants are members of the palm family. Toddy made from these plants is referred to by their respective names in the local dialect as "Pol Ra," "Tal Ra," and "Kitul Ra," respectively.

If you are travelling to the southern parts of Sri Lanka, where the road runs parallel to the beach, you will be able to see people called toddy tappers walking on ropes that are tied high up between the trees. From the region of Wadduwa, towards Maggona, Payagala, Beruwala, and Aluthgama to view this breathtaking panorama, and the best time to do so is in the morning. A significant number of people in the area engage in toddy-tapping as their sole source of income. They ascend the tree in order to obtain the flower from the top of the coconut at the appropriate time. Typically, the toddy tapper will traverse a tightrope known as an "athura" that is strung between two nearby coconut trees at a great height. Before making the potentially fatal ascent, the tapper pays his respects to the tree. Because even a momentary loss of balance could be fatal, he is careful to both hold on to one rope and walk carefully on the other. This activity has the potential to be hazardous due to a number of factors, including the utilisation of ropes that are worn out, the use of tree trunks that are slippery, and the occurrence of unexpected wind.

Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaithivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Puttalam, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, and Hambantota are some of the most common places in Sri Lanka where Asian Palmyrah plants can be discovered. The fruits, which are produced by the trees between the months of February and May, have the appearance of being purple-black in colour with a shade of dark yellow, and they are round and shaped like coconuts. About six to twelve bunches of fruits are produced on an annual basis by the female Palmyrah plant. Fishtail palms can be found in most parts of the country, with the exception of the country's north and northeastern regions. Both palmyrah plant toddy and fishtail plant toddy are fermented in the same manner, which is the same technique that is used in the production of coconut toddy.

Gamini Gunasekara

Managing Partner, FantAsia Tours