Nashik

  • Vallonne Vineyards – Nashik

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    Vallonne Vineyards – Nashik

    The last stop on wine tour was Vallonne Vineyards. The boutique winery lies on the gentle slopes of the Sahyadri mountain ranges and the Mukhne Lake overlooking the Kavnai Peak, making it an ideal place for vineyards.

    Vineyards on Slope

    With their wine making techniques and state-of-the-art technology their wines include Malbec, Rose, Vin De Passerillage and Anokhee Cabernet Sauvignon which are unique offerings in the Indian wine market.

    Wine Educator Chetan

    Enthusiastic Chetan, their wine executive, with his wonderful  knowledge was the tour guide & expert who then took us through their wine processing production line to their  fascinating barrel ageing cellar where the  temperature is regulated. The filling of nitrogen in bottle to using nitrogen dry ice in the case of white wine at the beginning. Well every bit was useful input during the tour

    Barrel Cellar

    The tasting of the wine was uniquely held & included:
    Vallonne Riesling
    Vallonne Viognier Reserve Collection
    Vallonne Rose Cab Sauvignon
    Vallonne Merlot Reserve
    Vallonne Vin de Passerillage ( Dessert wine)

    The Tasting Line up

    Must say thier limited release Vin de Passerillage ( Dessert wine) which reminded me of the ice wine was a luscious treat. This one is produced in small quantities from the good handpicked grapes, sun-dried to ensure the highest concentration of aromas and sugars. The rich, deep golden wine has a wonderful complex nose nostalgic with hints of honey, vanilla, melons, citrus and apricot which said to pair perfect
    with rich chocolate, fruit tarts, dried fruits, ice creams and cheeses.

    Cheers Chetan

  • Soma Vine Village – Nashik

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    Soma Vine Village – Nashik

    The next stop was the Somanda Vineyards. This Soma Vine Village with its lush green vineyards is at the entrance is a treat to the eye.

    Sauvignon Blanc Vineyard

    As we stepped in we were greeted by the smiling Sommelier Bhushan who introduced us and gave the boutique winery’s guided tour

    With Wine Educator Bhushan

    Apart from knowing their processes of making White, Red, Rose we also had the first hand knowledge of their Sparkling wines (method champanoise)

    Riddling process

    The process of making sparkling wines right form bottling the blend of wines, the secondary fermentation by adding little sugar and yeast to each bottle to get a second fermentation started. The bottle is then closed with a crown cap. The Yeast converts the added sugar into alcohol, and since the bottle is capped, the carbob dioxide thst is naturally produced is captured and remains in the wine as bubbles.

    After this secondary fermentation, sparkling bottles have to go through a laborious process called riddling. Over the course of several weeks , the bottles are slowly, gradually turned and lowered until they are upside down. The idea is to get the dead yeast into the neck of the bottle so that it can be removed. When they are ready to go the necks of the bottles are frozen and the crown cap is disgorged with the pressure that has built in the wine which pushes out the frozen yeast deposit. The bottle is topped off with some wine and sometimes sugar also known as dosage before being corked and sealed with ta wire cage.

    Disgorging the crown cap and corking the bottle after adding the dosage

    Finally, it was wine tasting session wherein the wines tasted & analysed were:
    Zinfandel Reserve -13.5%
    Reisling Reserve – 12.5%
    Sauvignon Blanc – Silver – 12.5%
    Chenin Blanc Gold – 12%
    Rose – 12%
    Zinfandel Rose Litchi – A seductive, blush pink wine carefully crafted from the zinfandel grapes. The sweetness is enriched with litchi Honey.

    Wine Tasting Session

    All in all the tour was absolutely amazing.

    Aroma Wheel

    Cheers Soma!

  • York A Boutique Winery – Nashik

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    York A Boutique Winery – Nashik

    The next Winery was the York which was situated not far from Sula. After a good ride we reached this boutique winery which has a fabulous view of the Gangapur Dam & is such a serene & a perfect place. Got an opportunity to meet the owner Mr Ravi Guruani. Such a wonderful person. Had a good chat over some interesting knowledge on their array of wines

    York Winery

    Their flagship wines are Arros / Sparkling Cuvée/ Sparkling Rose / H Block
    Their premium wines include Chenin Blanc / Sauvignon Blanc / Cabernet Sauvignon /Shiraz /Cabernet Merlot / Late Harvest /Shiraz Viognier

    Grapes ready for destemming

    It was time to tour their  production area, ageing process & the young Mr Ganesh was the perfect Wine Executive who took me around as we explored their wine making process.

    With Ganesh the Wine Educator

    The Crushing area is where the grapes after destemming are brought and crushed to collect the grape juice which thereafter goes in fermentation tanks where yeast thereby converting it into the resultant products Alcohol, Co2 and heat.

    Crushing

    After crushing process we headed to the fermentation tank and pressing area and finally to the storage of wine in stainless steel tanks and maturation in oak barrels.

    Storage in Stainless Steel Tanks and Maturation in French Oak barrels

    The Wine Educator thereafter took us to the tasting table. The wines savoured & analysed were:
    York Sparkling Wine Cuvee – Blanc de Blancs 12%abv
    H Block Chardonnay
    York Rose – 12%
    York Arros – 14%
    York late harvest (Dessert Wine)

    The tasting session

    After 4S’ – seeing, swirling, sniffing, sipping – & getting the body, acidity, tannins & alcohol right including toasting the bubbly brut to the dessert wine it was time to adieu good bye.

    Must add that their York Arros, a reserve blend of Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon, was a nice wine. With its deep ruby colour, fading edge, aromatic & pleasant nose with sweetness and a hint of toasted oak coming off the blend of American and French oak, dark berries & plums & the sweet spices & on the palate dry with complex ripe red fruits & plums, oak, and sweet vanilla & balanced tannins & with long pleasing floral & fruity & spicy finish this was the icing on the cake.
    Cheers York Winery!

  • Sula Vineyards – Nashik

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    Sula Vineyards – Nashik

    During my working years with the Indian Customs in Mumbai, I had set my mind to visit Wineries of Nashik. However, due to time constraint and work commitments I could not make it. Post my voluntary retirement, the first thing I decided was to fulfill this dream. So before I could set myself to a WSET Level 2 course in Wines, I decided to tour Nashik Wineries during the month of February 2020.

    At the Entrance

    Sula Vineyards -Nashik

    I started with Sula Vineyards located in the region of Nashik also called “India’s Napa Valley which was founded in the year 1998 by Rajeev Samant. Sula was named after his mother – Sulabha. Initially, the vineyards introduced grape varietals such as Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Riesling and Zinfandel. Thereafter, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Grenache, Viognier were in!

    The Vineyards

    Sula conducts their wine tour on a regular basis and we could get the slot of 11.30 am to 12.30 pm. Since we were early and had a good 90 minutes, I decided to take the Vineyard tour. The entrance to the Sula Vineyard is magnificent which leads to some well manicured garden and par excellence architecture on the right and beautiful vineyards to the left. Apart from the amphitheater, they have stay facilities – The Source at Sula and Beyond by Sula. You come across the directions signpost with distance to many countries. A tour of their Wine shop which had an array of their products displayed with prices is a must visit to get a knowledge about their wines.

    The Wine Shop

    Some of the famous wines produced by them are:

    Red Wines: Rasa Shiraz, Rasa Cabernet Sauvignon, Dindori Reserve Shiraz, Sula Cabernet Shiraz, Sula Zinfandel, Satori Merlot Malbec, Mosaic Grenache Syrah, Dia Red,
    White Wines: Dindori Reserve Viognier, Sula Sauvignon blanc, Sula Chenin blanc, Sula Riesling, Sula Chenin blanc Reserve, Mosaic Chenin Sauvignon,
    Dia White, Rosé Wine, Sula Zinfandel Rosé, Mosaic Grenache Syrah Rosé
    Sparkling Wines: Sula Brut, Sula Brut Rosé, Sula Seco, Sula Seco Rosé ,

    The Wine Educator

    Finally around 11.30 am met Nidad the Wine Educator who then took us around explaining their journey from grape to  glass. The insight to their wine making process was well explained.

    The Oak Cellar

    Thoroughly enjoyed a personalized wine tasting at The Tasting Cellar where we tasted & analysed
    -Sparkling Wine – Brut Chardonnay
    -Sauvignon Blanc
    -Dindori Reserve Chardonnay
    -Rassa Syrah
    -Rassa Cabernet Sauvignon
    -Late Harvest Chenin Blanc

    Tasting Session

    It was a perfect wine tasting session starting from bubbly brut to the whites then the Reds & finally culminating to the dessert wine. 

    Cheers Sula!





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