Wineries of Nashik, Maharashtra
Wine is made from grapes. The processes that go into wine making include harvesting of the grapes, pressing, fermentation, aging and finally bottling. There are several additional steps for making of the different types of wines and imparting unique flavors to each.
Grapes require a specific type of soil and weather to grow successfully. Sandy soils which have a good water holding capacity are ideal. Weather should be hot and humid in growing phase and cold during dormant phase; ideal temperatures are 15-40°C. These and other factors make Nashik region in Maharashtra, India perfectly suited for growing grapes, thus earning it the title of “grape capital of India”.
Top 3 Vineyards & Wineries in Nashik
Nashik sports numerous vineyards and wineries because of its grape growing capabilities. Some of them have commercialized or branched out into resorts and restaurants and make for fun tourist destinations. I have visited 3 of these wineries – handpicked after research – and have been impressed by all of them. They make for ideal day trips from Mumbai and Pune.
Some enroute images below.
Without further ado, here’s the list in no particular order.
- Sula Vineyards – Sula is the most popular winery in India. It is the largest producer of wines in India and is the most awarded. It has a wide range of wines – red, white, rosé, sparkling etc.
Sula has a guided wine tour about the wine making process which includes a wine tasting at the end. They have a restaurant, shops, some cute displays for insta-worthy photo opportunities. They also have a resort. Ideal time to visit is January to March.
When we visited in the month of February, the vineyards were in full bloom. We took the wine tour which was informative as was the wine tasting. We asked a lot of questions about the different kinds of wines and were given knowledgeable answers. The restaurant serves good quality food which coupled with the superb view was just wonderful and ofcourse their delicious wine added to the whole experience.
The memento shop sells some cute paraphernalia, and I bought a commemorative T-shirt. Ofcourse, we did buy wine from the wine shop. Then we wandered around and took some lovely photos and had the time of the day.
- Vallone Vineyards – Vallone is India’s first boutique winery and they make French styled The vineyards are beautiful and make for a scenic view. The food in their restaurant is delicious – believe me, you’ve got to try it. The server suggested wine pairing with our food and it was good quality wine.
Soma Vine Village – Soma is known for its luxury resorts which makes for a relaxing weekend destination. The main building of the winery has a gallery of informative boards and is beautifully decorated. Soma too offer wine tour and tasting but we did not opt for the same.
We had a relaxing day with good food and wine and some fantastic views.
Next on my List
York Winery & Tasting Room – This is close to the Soma Vine Village and looked to be a very pretty winery. This is next up on our list to visit on another day trip from Mumbai.
This post was written as part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.