Indian wines generally leave plenty to be desired. But a visit to Nashik, the hub of the country’s wine industry, convinces me that there is plenty to be hopeful about. The vineyards in this region are impossible to miss in the valleys, which, in this dry season, are ringed by dun-coloured hills. Table grapes are the mainstay, but there are plenty of wine varieties that farmers, some with small holdings, grow on contract.
The wine industry in Maharashtra is essential to be growing at over 30 percent annually and accounts for about 97 percent of country’s wine produce; of the state’s 58 wineries, 30 are from Nashik.
But the optimism doesn’t stem so much from such attractive numbers as the attitude of some of the wine makers. I visited four wineries-sula, chateau D’Ori, Vintage, and York-a mix that represents the established, the innovative and the new. The three-day trip has provided too much fodder for a column of this size.so,this one is limited to a brief and a very general case for why we should be cheery and positive about the future of nashik and the Indian Wine industry.
Attitude: It is a truism that a passion for wine and an appreciation that wine-making is a scientific process are prerequisites. the men I met and spoke had both.Ranjith Dhuru of chateau D’Ori runs a Rs.400 crore IT business and developed his passion after being exposed to wine at numerous business dinners;today,I suspect he is far more happy talking about wine and his winery at Dindori rather than his core business. Vintage’s Yatin patil, who makes wines under the Reveilo brand, has gradually planted more and more wine grapes in his vineyard, an ancestral property that grew table grapes, and acquired a winery that boasts of machinery entirely imported from Italy.
Good practice: There is a real effort to improve viticulture and wine-making practices-be in the pruning, the sorting or the methods employed in the winery before the liquid is bottled. It is good to see that the endeavour is directed at producing decent wine rather than just maximizing profits.
Red and white: Indian whites are generally far better than Indian reds-the latter often suffer from a green vegetative character.sula, which has been around for a decade and makes what is possibly the most reliable range of wines, is far better for its whites. But even here, they are on the verge of releasing a new red – a kind of oaked Super Dindori made only of Shiraz. I was given the taste from the barrel- nice, plumy and agreeably fruit forward.Interestingly, the other three wineries are much better for the reds. I was pleasantly surprised by the Shiraz and cabernet-again sipped from the barrel-lying in the cellar of York. The company has not started selling its wines yet, but do watch out for these. As for the impressive chateau D’Ori Winery, the Cabernet-Merlot easily tops the list of their reds and Reveilo’s 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon-which, a vertical tasting revealed is much more mellow, mature and agreeable than its somewhat over-fruity successors-is a fine product.
New Varietals: Everyone seems to be experimenting with new varietals and the range of Indian wine is set to expand exponentially in the future.
Wine tourism: Wine tourism has grown into a huge industry and Nashik has cottoned on to the possibility that it may even become a big wine destination.Sula already has it all-wine tours, grape stomping, an Italian restaurant, a beautifully designed tasting room and a balcony that overlooks the vineyards, and a boutique bungalow with three rooms and a stunning view of the mountains. Others have begun to see the potential of what could provide revenue as well as expand customer base.
All in all, the visit to Nashik persuades me that things can get only better from here.
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