Indian Wine News and Messages : wine tourism

Wine tourism makeover planned by Maharashtra government – Travel Biz Monitor

anisha sharma — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:27:00 GMT

The Maharashtra government is planning a tourism makeover for the state in order to promote it as India’s first Wine Tourism destination. Many measures as part of this master plan, including the opening of wine bars and cafes at tourist spots, and state-run luxury trains and resorts, were announced by the Maharashtra Excise and Tourism departments recently.

More: TravelBizMonitor

A day at Fratelli Wines vineyards in Nashik, Maharashtra - The Hindu

anisha sharma — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:43:00 GMT

I, along with a group of journalists, at the invitation of Fratelli Wines, have arrived at their winery at Motewadi, Maharashtra.

The property, designed to promote the burgeoning culture of wine tourism, is less than two years old.

After an elaborate low-down on the capacity of the winery - six lakh litres - and the average time taken between harvesting and bottling - close to three months - and almost every other detail in between, I am ready to try the real thing.

The pale white Chenin Blanc, poured in next, is a medium-bodied white with peach and citrus notes. The crisp acidity of the white is balanced with a hint of sweetness.

The blood red Cabernet Sauvignon which trickles into our flutes next is an 80 per cent cabernet and 20 per cent sangiovese blend. The wine, fermented at 25 degrees centigrade for a week is full-bodied and dry to the palate. The first bouquet was that of blackberry and blackcurrants followed by subtle notes of black olives and a hint of sage. The Cabernet Sauvignon carried a lot of character with its subtle earthy tones and an elusive spiciness.

Swirling and sniffing the ruby red Merlot next, I took a sip of the full-bodied wine. The velvety Merlot has evolved with notes of cherry, dark berry and plum, accentuated by subtle mocha and herbal nuances.

Apart from the wines I sampled, Fratelli has two basic wines in its repertoire – the Classic White and the Classic Red. The Classic White was a young, fresh and fruity wine, the kinds you can sip on at any time of the day.

More: The Hindu

York winery keen on wine tourism in its Nashik vineyards - Hospitality Biz

anisha sharma — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:45:00 GMT

York Winery plans to build 25 rooms at its winery to promote wine tourism in its premises in Nashik, Maharashtra. York Winery just concluded the second edition of a day-long wine and music event, York Live, which featured musicians across a variety of new age genres and registered an attendance of around 600. Ravi Gurnani, Owner, York Wines, conceptualised York Live as an event that would make Indians more aware about wine in general and also serve as an important vehicle of promotion for the estate.

More: Hospitality Biz

Visiting India’s wine country Nashik – Huffington Post

anisha sharma — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:50:00 GMT

The best time to visit is between November and March, though wine enthusiasts may want to plan their jaunt to coincide with Sula Vineyard's wine stomping. Regardless of the season, Sula Vineyards offers wine tasting in The Tasting Room, where guests can sample a variety of wines while looking out onto the picturesque vineyard. There are two restaurants on the property, one Italian and the other Indian, ideal for those who want to spend more time at the vineyard or simply want a good meal. (A tip: Buying by the case here beats Mumbai's by-the-bottle prices.)

Though Nashik is best known for the Indian winery Sula Vineyards, it's also home to a few noteworthy temples, a lovely sprawling garden, 2,000-year-old caves and even a brand-new water park.

More: Huffington Post

Wine tour on a toy train in Nashik – Mid day

anisha sharma — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:54:00 GMT

Vintners in the state of Maharashtra have planned a whole new travel experience to get you deep into the heart of Nashik's ruddy vineyards. With a view to promote wine tourism in the state and woo domestic drinkers, the All India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA) is planning to start a toy train in the heart of the wine village in Nashik.

Pradeep Sheth, a wine lover, welcomed the move. "There are very few places that offer visits to vineyards and also they are not handled efficiently. If such a toy train is started in the wine valley of Nashik, I am sure that many people like me will be interested in knowing how the industry works."

More: Mid-day

Rs 999 for a wine tour to Sula Vineyards, Nashik, India! – Desidime.com

anisha sharma — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:54:00 GMT

Rs.999 for a Sula Vineyards (Nashik) Estate Tour + Premium Wine Tasting Session (5 Wines) + Veg Buffet Dinner at Little Italy + Unlimited House Wine for One Person.

Little Italy is Sula’s speciality restaurant. If you want to stay on at the scenic vineyards, you may plan a weekend trip next time.

More: desidime.com

Upcoming events at The Wine Society of India

anisha sharma — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:00:00 GMT

The Wine Society of India organises wine tasting and training events and vineyard tours. It is headquartered at Mumbai, but operates across the country, including cities like bangalore and Nashik.

Their educational programmes include an introduction to wine basics, including types and styles of wine, what to assess in a wine, famous red and white grape varietals, and how to taste, store and serve wine correctly.

Please call their Mumbai office (22) 4345 9100 if you'd like to join the fun. The upcoming events include corporate and private tastings and can be viewed at The Wine Society of India

Touring Nashik's wineries with The Wine Society of India - Indiatimes.com

anisha sharma — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:12:00 GMT

These tours are extremely informative, and will cover everything, including the lifecycle of the vine, harvesting of the grapes, fermenting procedures for red and whites, how sparkling wine is made, and how some wines are aged and then bottled. Prior appointments can often get you an extended tour, beyond what most tourists generally get to see.

If you decide to spend the night in Nasik, the nicest option would have to be Sula’s 3-bedroom villa The Beyond, which overlooks the vineyards. The villa has its own chef, and an infinite pool too! Other options are the Taj Business Hotel, and the Ginger Hotel, both in town, yet conveniently located. The Wine Society regularly books trips for its members.

More: Indiatimes.com

Bangalore to rev up the wine industry and wine tourism - Newkerala and DnaIndia

anisha sharma — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:35:00 GMT

Wine production in Karnataka is expected to touch one lakh cases per month in the next five years, says Wine Board Chairman S Hari Singh. Announcing the Wine Festival to be held in Bangalore on April 10 and 11, he said the production now was 10,000 cases per month. It was expected to increase ten fold within next five years.

Mr Singh said a "Wine Park" would be established at Turavi village in Bijapur District. Already 141.28 acres of land had been acquired from the state Government for this park.

He said after introduction of wine policy, the acreage under grap cultivation had gone upto 1800 acres from 600 acres.

Wine tourism in Bangalore, Karnataka

India’s wine capital, Bangalore, is gearing up to promote wine tourism in a big manner. If all goes well, independent brands will promote wine tourism from December on the city’s outskirts. At present, there are only seven vineyards in the state, four of which dot Bangalore’s outskirts, while the other three are located in Bijapur and Bagalkot districts.

Permissions would be granted to set up more vineyards in the state. “At least two years are required to brew wine. Hence, promoting wine tourism would also taketime. The introduction of the wine policy and the proposal in the recent budget to promote grape cultivation would also benefit wine tourism,” said horticulture secretary SG Hegde.

Wine tourism also found mention in the recent tourism master plan. Tourism director Vishwanath Reddy said that Bangalore had the ideal conditions to promote wine tourism and modalities for exploiting the conditions were being chalked out.

BN Nanjundaiah, a Karnataka Wine Board member and chairman of Naka Wines Private Limited near Nandi Hills, said they would begin welcoming tourists from December.

More: NewKerala.com and DNAIndia.com

Four Seasons is ready for Wine Tourism at Baramati - Business Standard

anisha sharma — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:37:00 GMT

Four Seasons, the wine subsidiary of Vijay Mallya-owned United Spirits Ltd (USL), plans to foray into the wine tourism space by April-end, by setting up a hotel at its winery in Baramati, Maharashtra. The hotel will have 14 rooms, swimming pool, spa, restaurant, retail rooms where wine and other goods will be sold.

Abay Kewadkar, Director, Four Seasons Wines, says there is room for expansion of the facility based on initial consumer feedback to the initiative.

As a concept, wine tourism is not new in India, with players such as Sula, for instance, having boarding and lodging facilities at its winery in Nasik.

More: Business Standard

Plan a wine tour to Nashik or Bangalore in Februaray 2010

anisha sharma — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:46:00 GMT

Nashik Wineries

The grape is harvested in February-April. Summer is already here in April and can be quite warm. Nashik is a dusty and crowded city, with vineyards on its outskirts.

Sula Vineyards

Sula Vineyards organise vineyard tours in January-March (a one-hour tour costs Rs 150), and also have a great tasting room (which gets quite crowded on weekends) and two lovely restaurants (Little Italy and Kareem’s) at their winery. There’s also a three-bedroom bungalow beyond, for those wanting to spend the night nearby (bookings, only for the whole bungalow at Rs 16,000/Rs 20,000, including vineyard tour, all meals and wine tasting). Call 99700-90010 or 0253-2230575 or check their website (www.sulawines.com) for more details.

York Winery

Other wineries I know of in the area with a “walk-in” tasting facility are York Winery (96557-28070), also located on the shores of the picturesque Gangapur lake (not too far from Sula).

Renaissance Winery

Prajit — 92251-24624

Vintage Wines

Director: Yatin Patil — 98226 84423 yatin@reveilo.com

Chateau D’Ori

Winemaker: Kailash Dhuru — 99200-53862

Indage Vintners

Lastly there’s the grand-daddy of them all: Chateau Indage, whose winery is on the Pune-Nasik road, but which does not encourage visitors, even though there is a wine bar-***-restaurant on the main road, right at the winery gates where you can sample and buy their wines.

Indus Wines

Violet D'Souza, Director Indus Wines: violet@terroirindia.com

Bangalore winery

Grover Vineyards

Grover Vineyards' winery is about 40 km outside Bangalore. To arrange your own personalized tour of the vineyard, get in touch with Grover Vineyards at visit@grovervineyards.in. or call Maitry Desai (93796-27175).

Wine tourism boom in India - About.com

anisha sharma — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:18:00 GMT

India is experiencing a boom in wine tourism. Many Indian vineyards now have tasting rooms, so wine enthusiasts can enjoy exploring India's wine regions. It's often possible to complete the experience by staying at at the vineyards.

India's main wine region is Nasik, around four hours northeast of Mumbai, in Maharastra. However, there are also some reputable wineries scattered further south in India.

Visit these vineyards to enjoy some of the best wine in India.

Sula Vineyards has a luxury three bedroom bungalow called Beyond, which visitors can rent. It's located a short distance from the winery. Beyond comes with private balconies, large living area, swimming pool, and in-house chef who'll prepare delicious meals made out of organic vegetables.

Location: On the outskirts of Nasik, off Gangapur-Savargaon Road, around 20 minutes drive from town.

Indage Vinteners /Chateau Indage's winery has well stocked wine bar, where visitors can taste six varieties for 150 rupees, as well as a wine shop. Those who are feeling hungry can dine at the Ivy restaurant on the premises. Chateau Indage also offers winery tours. If you arrive by 11 a.m. on weekends, you'll be able to participate in a one and half hour a tour of the vineyard.

Location: On the outskirts of Narayangaon, around 85 kilometers (53 miles) from Pune on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway.

Chateau d’Ori is a relatively new winery, who's first harvest was in February 2007. Significant effort is being put into developing the 400 acres of vineyards as a tourist destination, with three artificial lakes for boating and other water sports, luxury farmhouse accommodations, and ambient wine tasting lounge. The winery's state-of-the-art technology is also worth checking out.

Location: At the base of the picturesque Nhera-Ori hills at Dindori, around 22 kilometers (13 miles) from Nashik on the Nashik-Dindori Road.

Grover Vineyards: To arrange your own personalized tour of the vineyard, get in touch with Grover Vineyards at visit@grovervineyards.in. There are extensive wine trails across the property, and it's also possible to visit the winery's new barrel room.

Location: Nandi Hills, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Bangalore in Karnataka.

Tiger Hill Vineyards: The attractive thing about the resort is that it has a tasting lounge bar, and offers a wide range of wines at view reasonable prices. It's worth a visit if you're in Nasik to enjoy wine!

Location: Tiger Hills Vineyard Resort is located on the Mumbai-Nasik Highway, around 20 minutes drive from town.

More: About.com