Wine Tasting in India?

When I told my brother in law that we were visiting Nashik in India to try their wines, his response was something like, “when I was growing up in Chennai, Indian wines were not considered very good”. That was in the 1970s and 1980s. Things have changed in this regard with a select number of Indian wineries having elevated viticulture practices and winemaking, Chandon India being on the forefront of doing so.

I arrived in Mumbai from Bangkok; the Mumbai airport appeared to be located in the center of the city with urban sprawl running as far as the eye could see in all directions. I found a driver at the airport who would make the approximately 4.5 hour trip to Nashik. It took us nearly 3 hours to leave the city due to terrible traffic and significant road construction.

I arrived at my guesthouse in Nashik, having booked it during the drive. It was approximately $10/night and was located in a neighborhood filled with small metal working shops. Bandsaws and welding sparks flew until after midnight, at which point I was finally able to fall into a deep sleep. During my several day stay here and subsequent walks and drives around the city, I saw no non Indian pedestrians. Most of the restaurants I ate at, I did so using my hands like everyone else as utensils were not provided.

The weather was a welcome relief from Bangkok, with temperatures reaching around 28 or 29 during the day and falling to around 16 at night. Some might call this the perfect weather; it is certainly conducive for growing wine grapes.

Chandon India

Sula Vineyards

The focus of my visit was to see Chandon India. This part of Nashik has a long history of growing table grapes and is the largest such region in India for table grapes. The Chandon India driveway passes through rows of table grapes; just before harvest each of the bunches are wrapped in newspaper to help ensure even color for all the grapes and also protects against sunburn.

Their winemaker Amrut Vare hosted me for a private tour and tasting. This is one of 6 Chandons around the planet in addition to the ‘mothership’ in Champagne, France. My last remaining Chandon properties to visit are in Brazil and China. Visiting this property was like being in an oasis; it was calm, the temperature was perfect, the skies clear and the wines superb. Like the other Chandons, food is part of the experience, but here meals are only served on the weekends.

Nashik is the wine capital of the country; its first winery was Sula Vineyards which today is a much visited property for both the wines, the Instagramable grounds and The Source at Sula, a collection of luxury villas across from Gangapur Lake and a wellness spa. They have been on the forefront of building awareness about India’s wine industry; they were the first Asian country outside of China to sell more than 1 million cases in a 12 month period, they opened India’s first tasting room at a winery in 2005, organized Sula Fest in 2008, India’s first wine and music festival (utilizing the outdoor amphitheater and space at the winery) and bottled India’s first wine in a can in 2020.

Sula is the largest winery in India; they also own the nearby York Vineyards. During my visit and tasting at this comparably much smaller operation, harvest had just begun and workers were unloading grapes from the back of a truck.

During my time in Nashik, I visited four wineries including Chandon India, Sula Vineyards, York Vineyards and SOMA Wine Village. All properties offer some sort of food component. I tried both still and or sparkling wines from the following varieties: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sémillon Ugni Blanc and Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Shiraz.

Soma Wine Village