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| Awesome view of Sula vineyards from the terrace |
Frustrated with crowd, traffic and chaos of Mumbai, me and my friend Avinash decided to leave and head for some relaxing destination close to Mumbai. We just wanted respite from the busy city life. We hit upon the idea of a tour to Sula Vineyard near the township of Nasik, a four-hour drive from Mumbai because of its uniqueness in India of being an exotic location not only for wine lovers but for anyone seeking peace and solitude in totally a different rural setting of a vineyards.
On research we found out, Sula Vineyards in
Nasik was perhaps India's most popular and most accessible winery. From beginnings in 1997, Sula Vineyards has admirably developed into a world class winery. The winery is open to visitors, who can enjoy a tour, tastings, courses, and fun events. It's a pleasant surprise to me to find a winery of this standard in India
Leaving early in the morning and driving through rising hills, we reached
Igatpuri where we had a delicious breakfast of
Masala Omelette at Manas Resort before heading for
Nasik. From
Nasik the road to winery was rather bad but the surrounding of rolling hills was enchanting. Soon we were at the imposing gate of winery with its sun symbol.
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Sula Vineyards
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Beyond Resort sula vineyards
Sula Vineyards
The winery was set on a 35-acre vineyard. For wine that Sula produces, the property wasn't as large as I expected it to be. However, that's because I believed Sula has an additional few hundred acres of vineyards spread elsewhere in the region.
We stayed at winery’s resort “
Beyond” close to vineyard. Well, the place was stunning, indeed! After a cup of tea, we visited the farm followed tour to wine testing tour. In was impressed. The ambient tasting room had been architecturally designed, with a balcony affording expansive views over the vineyard. The wine bottle lights suspended from the ceiling were a unique touch and emitted a warm glow.
After our tour of the Sula winery, we settled down and it was time for me to enjoy the views, one of Sula's premium wines, and my light snacks.
Chilled wine with a bite of Cheese Cube and Green OlivesI ordered Sula Brut-Sparkling Wine, a traditional
champ noise-style brut.
Saw, Swirled, Sniffed, Sipped, Swirled again and Swallowed!
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| Gangapur dam and backwaters |
Gangapur Dam and Backwaters
In the afternoon, we visited nearby Gangapur Dam and backwaters. Wow! What a place! I found Gangapur Backwaters was one of the most blissful place to just go and relax. It was a peaceful place for recreation. A feeling of divinity was sensed along with pleasant breezes around. Looking at it, I thought of quality time with loved ones which can be experienced at backwaters. Families can also spend time on weekends. Kids and youngsters can also enjoy playing various sporty games like Football and Badminton
In the evening, I sat near the pool while my friend Avinash enjoyed a dip in the pool.
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| Range of Sula wines |
Dinner
For our dinner, we went to “
Little Italy” a unique vegetarian Italian restaurant of its kind in the world with its branches all over India.
The session started with chilled
Sula Sauvignon Blanc-a white wine. It had aromas of cut grass, green peppers and spice, which gave a gooseberry and racy acidity on the palate. Dry and crisp with a moderately long finish and accompanying it with starter-f
Crostini Della Casa (sliced farmer’s bread, grilled and topped with sun dried tomatoes, basil, garlic and roasted Italian aubergines).
Fantastic, indeed!
My friend Avinash ordered-
Spicy wood burn pizza “Nawabi” (spicy tomato sauce with Italian herbs, capsicum, mozzarella and onion) and settled with
Sula Satori Merlot- a red wine : an easy drinking red - perfect to stand up to the strong spicy Indian cuisine.
I too sipped it. Great! A full-bodied spicy wine!
During dinner, there was a hot discussion on which wine goes well with Indian cuisine. I’m giving below the summary and some of the suggestions:
Are you a foodie and a wine lover? Wines That Pair with Indian Food
Indian food is characterized by its generous use of spices-cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry powder, fennel, fenugreek, mace, peppercorns, and others, as well as the blend of most of these known as garam masala. Added is red fiery chilies. But where does that leave the person who wants his or her glass of wine with dinner? What kind of wine goes with such heavily spiced dishes as fiery hot paneer or chicken tikka, vindaloos and koftas to name few.
Australian Shiraz, inexpensive Rhone reds, Beaujolais, Grenache, modest Pinot Noirs, fruity Zinfandels, and Spanish Riojas can nicely augment meats and vegetables in the spicy sauces typical of Indian foods. But even better than reds are the white wines, especially those that are fruity yet have a strong, crisp acidity: Chablis, Chenin Blanc, Austrian Gruener Veltliner, German and Alsatian Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, Portuguese Vinho Verde, Muscadet, Vouvray, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, Viognier, Semillion, Pinot Gris and its Italian version called Pinot Grigio, and-especially-Sauvignon Blancs that are crisp and delightfully fruity from France, California, and New Zealand.
Many of the above types of grapes are grown and their wines are now available in Sula Vineyards NasikMore details of wines with Indian foodIt was an enjoyable side trip from Mumbai and can easily be reached by frequent Indian Railways train services to Nasik, buses, or even by taxi.
The harvesting months of January to March are the best times to visit Sula Vineyards. You'll be able to participate in wine stomping. The Sula Fest music concert is held during February/March as well, in the outdoor amphitheatre.Weekends are crowded so try to avoid.Everything was so wonderful, relaxing and I hated leaving the place. However, I felt fresh and rejuvenated, ready to plunge myself again in the chaos called Mumbai