Circa Feb 2015.....Madame Malhotra-Jamwal and Moi decide to pay homage to the mai baap of wines in India - SULA.
Drive from Mumbai to Nashik does not take too long given the winding scenic beauty of the ghats at Igatpuri - approx 3 hrs. We reach Sula by 2:15pm and are plesantly surprised to see the crowd hob nobbing away. I was informed that the previous weekend saw the Sula Fest and like every year there was a commendable turnout. The staff are very helpful and inform us that we can book the tour, go munch and by then be in time for the next wine tasting & tour of the winery.
The dining area is decorated very thoughfully. I'm reminded of the bistro at Napa and PMJ of France. Foodies that we are, on priority ample amount of fare is ordered and we sit back to sip the daintly coloured Sula Brut Rose wine.
Feeling fortified with lunch we amble off for the winery tour. The guide walks us through the history of the place, wine making in general and readily responds to queries of the tour group. The tour takes a few minutes and at each juncture we are carefully debriefed on the process/ machinery, temperature, why cork n which wood etc. We walk on and soon enough reach the tasting chamber.
Our guide makes us twirl n sip, sniff and slurp - and soon we are not so sure if its white, pink, red or desert wine which is our favourite - and that is saying something!!!Post tasting we take a walk around and pose for pictures and head for the wine shop.
Armed with our purchases we head back to the car. One would think PMJ and yours truly would have had a peaceful end to the day but no. We missed a crucial turning to the expressway and ended up meandering through jawahar -thane to reach Mumbai which took much too long- so travellers be warned to stop look and then proceed back to Mumbai lest you too miss the bend in the road.
Drive from Mumbai to Nashik does not take too long given the winding scenic beauty of the ghats at Igatpuri - approx 3 hrs. We reach Sula by 2:15pm and are plesantly surprised to see the crowd hob nobbing away. I was informed that the previous weekend saw the Sula Fest and like every year there was a commendable turnout. The staff are very helpful and inform us that we can book the tour, go munch and by then be in time for the next wine tasting & tour of the winery.
The dining area is decorated very thoughfully. I'm reminded of the bistro at Napa and PMJ of France. Foodies that we are, on priority ample amount of fare is ordered and we sit back to sip the daintly coloured Sula Brut Rose wine.
Feeling fortified with lunch we amble off for the winery tour. The guide walks us through the history of the place, wine making in general and readily responds to queries of the tour group. The tour takes a few minutes and at each juncture we are carefully debriefed on the process/ machinery, temperature, why cork n which wood etc. We walk on and soon enough reach the tasting chamber.
Our guide makes us twirl n sip, sniff and slurp - and soon we are not so sure if its white, pink, red or desert wine which is our favourite - and that is saying something!!!Post tasting we take a walk around and pose for pictures and head for the wine shop.
Armed with our purchases we head back to the car. One would think PMJ and yours truly would have had a peaceful end to the day but no. We missed a crucial turning to the expressway and ended up meandering through jawahar -thane to reach Mumbai which took much too long- so travellers be warned to stop look and then proceed back to Mumbai lest you too miss the bend in the road.
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