Sula vineyards

Leora Mascarenhas

Introduction
Wine tourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes
the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the
store. Wine tourism consists of visits of wineries, vineyards and
restaurants known to offer unique vintages as well as organised wine
tours, wine festivals or other special events.
Many wine regions around the world have found it financially
beneficial to promote such tourisms; accordingly growers
associations and others in the hospitality industry in wine regions
have spent significant amounts of money to promote such tourisms.
Winery tasting rooms is no longer a simple venue to taste
and purchase wines. Many offer a complete tourism experienceincluding services such as restaurants, accommodation, tours picnic
facilities and recreational facilities. Todays tasting room is a place
where visitors can interact with the product, the winemaker and
experience first-hand, the rich diversity that the region has to offer.

International wine tourism

Italy, France and Spain are the top 3 countries in the world
producing wine. Apart from these regions United States, Argentine,
China, Australia, Chile and South America are some of the other wine
producing countries in the world.

Italy
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole, Alba, Piedmont.
Contemporary art meets traditional winemaking at the
Ceretto wineries. The Ceretto family have been making wine for
three generations. And not just any winetheir estates, which span
more than 140 hectares across four villages of the Piedmonts
Langhe, produce some of the regions very best, including the young,
easy Nebbiolo dAlba, rich, slightly spicy Barbaresco and deep,
earthy, complex Barolo.
Visitors to the Ceretto estate can take in the art alongside the
wine in either of two special guided tours centred on the main
winery in Monsordo, near Alba. The first, called Wine and Art,
includes a visit to the Cappella delle Brunate, as well as the winery
tour and a tasting. The second, called Barolo and Architecture, takes
visitors to the Bricco Rocche winery and its glass Cube, as well as the
Monsordo winery. This too ends with a tasting.

Villa Vignamaggio, Greve in Chianti, Tuscany

The vines cover 52 hectares of the villas 140. Most of the land
is planted with Sangiovese, the Chiantis traditional variety, and
some with Cabernet Franc. Vignamaggio produces mostly Chianti
Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva and Vinsanto, with one of the
Riservas aptly named Castello di Monna Lisa.
Visitors can take a tour of the winery and visit Vignamaggios
extensive, beautifully formal Italian gardens before tasting some of
the estates wines. Bottles, as well as locally-produced olive oil and
grappa, are available for sale in the shop.

Planetas Cantina dellUlmo, Sambuca di Sicilia, Sicily

Planeta is one of Sicilys biggest wine successes. The
family is one of the engines of the islands vinous Renaissance, which
took place in the last ten years-it spearheaded the newfound passion
for the deeply rich, indigenous Nero DAvola grape, the development
of sober, elegant Chardonnays, and the creation of sophisticated,
fruity blends of local and international variety.
The Cantina di Ulmo, surrounded by 95 hectares of
vineyards, was their first winery, and soon they were making waves in
the international wine world. Four more wineries followed, spanning
the width of Sicily and the gamut of grape varieties, but Ulmo
remains the prettiest one to visit.

France
Rhone Valley
From the craggy, hillside vineyards in the north to the
rocky, sun-soaked vineyards in the south, the beautiful landscape of
the Rhone Valley is enough to leave one breathless. And in recent
years, its been gaining worldwide attention for the myriad of wine
styles coming out of the region. Although wine has been produced
here for over 2000 years, the Rhone valley is currently a very exciting
place to be as its undergoing a major transformation with
winemakers breaking the mold and experimenting with different
styles and techniques.

Burgundy
Wine made from the two principal varietals planted in
Burgundy, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, have long inspired
winemakers throughout the globe with their elegance, finesse, and
intricacy. Driving up the Route des Grands Crus in Burgundy, youre
eyes are struck with nothing but rolling, green vineyards on your left
and right, while ahead are perfectly manicured villages in various
shades of beige and brown. Burgundy is a complex patchwork of
small vineyards, with varying soil types, and without a doubt, the
wines from here are some of the best expressions of terroir.

Spain
Ribera del Duero
Halfway between Madrid and Santander, this region
near Burgos is the fastest developing wine district in the country and
the beneficiary of massive investments in the past few years. Cold
nights, sunny days, the highest altitudes of any wine-producing
region in Spain, and fertile alkaline soil produce flavourful, awardwinning wines. Among the noteworthy individual vineyards is:

Bodegas Seoro de Nava, Nava de Roa: This is one of the region's

best examples of a once-sleepy and now-booming vintner. Merlot
and cabernet sauvignon grapes are cultivated, as are more
obscure local varieties such as Tinta del Pas and Garnacha.Some
of the wines bottled here are distributed under the brand name
Vega Cubillas.

La Rioja
Set in the foothills of the Pyrenees close to the French
border, La Rioja turns out what most people have in mind when they
think of Spanish wines. The region produced millions of gallons
during the regime of the ancient Romans. Here are some of the best
vineyards for a visit:

Herederos de Marqus de Riscal, Elciego: This vineyard was

founded around 1850 by a local entrepreneur who learned
winegrowing techniques in France. The modern-day enterprise
still bases most of its income on the 199 hectares (492 acres)
acquired by the organization's founding father. Despite several
disappointing years between 1975 and 1985, it remains one of the
most respected in the region.

Wine Tourism in India

India has always been a tourist destination known for its

places and temples. Today with the growing wine industry, India is
evolving into a wine tourism destination. This is a good way to
promote wines and to give wine enthusiastic a real look at the world
of wine. India's main wine region is Nasik, around four hours
northeast of Mumbai, in Maharashtra. However, there are also some
reputable wineries scattered further south in India. Some of the
famous vineyards are:
1) Sula vineyards: Sula Vineyards is perhaps India's most popular
and most accessible winery. From humble 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. There's also a Little Italy
restaurant on the premises.
2) Chateau Indage: Chateau Indage is another popular and very
large Indian winery, with over 2,000 acres of vineyards in
different parts of the country. Founded in 1982, it's best known
for its premium range of Chantilli wines, including chardonnay
and cabernet sauvignon. The winery has well stocked wine bar,
where visitors can taste six varieties for 150 rupees, as well as a
wine shop.
3) Grover Vineyards: Grover Vineyards is one winery that's
proven that it's not necessary to be located in Nashik to
produce highly rated wine. Established as a family business in
1988, Grover Vineyards has expanded to over 210 acres. The
winery focuses on producing premium wines, with the standout
being its award winning La Reserve brand of oak matured
cabernet sauvignon and shiraz reds.

Sula vineyard

Situated 180 km northeast of Mumbai, Nashik is Indias

largest grape growing region. Founded in 1997, Sula vineyard is the
best vineyard in India which has developed into a world class winery.
Sula vineyards was awarded with a silver medal for its 2012
Sauvignon Blanc as the biggest wine maker in India. The official name
of the company is Nashik Ventners pvt limited.
Rajeev Samant, Founder and CEO of Sula Vineyards was
born and raised in Mumbai. After studying in Cathedral school, Mr.
Samant gained admission to Californias Stanford University from
where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Economics and also
completed a Masters degree in Engineering Management. After
Stanford Mr Samant worked at Oracle Corporation for 2 years where
he had the distinction of being the youngest manager in Oracles
Finance division. He started farming mangoes at his familys 20 acre
plot in Nasik and then tried his hands on various other crops.
Realising that Nasik had potential as a wine region, Mr. Samant
established Sula Vineyards, Nasiks first winery in 1999.
Apart from the beautiful and elegant vinery, there is also
Sula Beyond-Indias first vinery resort. This resort has 32 wine
themed rooms named after different grape varieties or Sulas wines.
Each room has a private balcony with a lake view and overlooks the
swimming pool.
Sula Vineyards is a beautiful place and has a 30 acre land
only for wine cultivation. Making wine is not an easy affair. There are
many processes. There is a huge difference between eating grapes
and wine grapes. Eating grapes are bigger and sweet whereas wine
grapes are smaller and sour and if eaten raw, one can get rashes. In
order for proper growth, a lot of care has to be taken. The wine plant
needs proper sunlight. Hence it is kept in a particular order with a

fixed gap and a fixed height of 3.5 feet. Rose plants are also kept
alongside. Sula wines are also well known Internationally.8% of the
total wine is exported worldwide. 70% of the wine production is in
India. What attracts people is the Good Quality and affordable price.
There are 2 machines to extract wine. Numatic balloon press
machine which is used for White wine and De Stemmer for Red wine.
The wine extracting machines automatically separate the seed, skin
and gives clear juice. Sugar is not added. There is particular time for
plucking i.e. 5:00-9:00 am and Brushing i.e. after 9:00 am. The wine
gets its colour because of the skin. For the dark red colour it takes 810 days and for pink colour it takes 14-15 hours. It is often said that
the older the wine the better the taste, hence ageing is very
beneficial.
The wine is kept in stainless steel tanks for further
process. In total there are 120 tanks coated with aluminium and the
minimum capacity is 2000 and maximum is 90,000. The wine has to
go through 4 processes i.e. Fermentation, Blending, Stabilization and
Filtration. Filtration is the most important process where wine is
filtered with 0.4.5 micro logy. Average filtration time is 1 year, white
wine takes 5-7 months and sparkling wine takes 12-18 months.
Carbonated wine is 100% natural. Bottle has to be kept in a slanting
position. The wines are further preserved in a Barrel made of Oak
wood. Each Barrel costs 1 Lakh and there are 1100 Barrels in total.
The temperature required for preserving wine is 18-20 degree. The
capacity of each barrel is 225 litre. During summer water sprinklers
are used to maintain moisture. Each barrel has a batch number and
the life of it is 5 years.
Sula vineyards are known worldwide for its good quality
wine and is gaining popularity. The process is large but the outcome
is excellent.

Conclusion

Sula vineyards is one of the most beautiful place in Nasik.

The long stretch of wine plants and the beautiful surrounding, both
complement each other with the amazing quality wine. It is not only
known in India but worldwide and visitors come to this place for a
good first-hand experience. The two important factors for this trip is
Planning and Execution without which nothing is possible.
Planning- Systematically planning the trip is very important. It
includes preparing a logistics about the activities to be carried
out on that day which also includes arrival and departure time.
Cost per person was taken into consideration on the basis of
the total amount spent overall. Curry leaves was the restaurant
decided for lunch and the total amount of the trip was 1,300
inclusive of everything.
Execution- The trip was executed in a systematical way as it
was planned. Students residing before Thane were told to
reach Kroni Academy at a particular time n those after Thane
were picked up on the way. The journey took 5 hours to reach
and our first destination was Curry Leaves for lunch. After 45
minutes we all reached Sula Wines, the most awaited
destination. After an amazing experience we left from Sula
Wines at 5:00 pm.

Summary
The overall experience was fabulous. A private bus was
arranged for all students as it was more convenient than any
other mode of transport. After a 5 hour journey by Bus we
were taken for lunch to curry leaves thereafter leaving for our
destination. As we reached Sula Vineyard we were greeted by
Mr. Prashant who was our guide. He gave a brief introduction
of Sula vineyard, about the founder and the process on how
wine was made in detail, about the plucking time and brushing
time. He introduced us to the Machines, Tanks and Barrels and
explained how it worked. After all the briefing we were taken
for wine tasting where we were given 4 tastings for 250 rs.
They included Sula brut Champagne, Dindori Reserve Shiraz,
Sauvignon Blanc and Satori Merlot Malbec. Our guide showed
us how to taste each wine. Soveigners in the form of mug, tshirts, key chains and various others things were there. The
overall experience was very good and the trip was very
informational.