[JoshMachine]

Not for nothing is Nashik labeled as the "Wine Capital" of India. As per Wiki, the region reportedly produces a ming-boggling 10,000 tonnes of grapes per year.

A visit, specially the first, to any place, is incomplete without knowing how it came into existence.
So here's a brief history of what has transpired at Sula Vineyards, over the last 3 decades.

Circa mid-90s, Stanford-trained Rajeev Samant quit his Silicon Valley job to return to his 30-acre family estate in Nashik and by chance, stumbled upon the fact that the region didn't produce wine grapes at that point of time. The engineer quickly went about investigating and came across some interesting trivia.

The research showed that the local climate was not only perfect for wine grapes but was at par with other winegrowing regions of Spain, California and Australia.

His curiosity piqued, Rajeev went back to California and spent three months at a small winery in California that belonged to his friend and mentor - and now Sula's Master Winemaker - Kerry Damskey, who enthusiastically agreed to help start a winery on Rajeev's family estate.

In 1997, the duo took the revolutionary step of planting French Sauvignon Blanc and Californian Chenin Blanc (it's ok if you cannot pronounce these jargons correctly, join the band!), varieties that had never before been planted in India.

Working on the frontlines of wine production gave him an inside look into the world of wines, and in 1999, Rajeev established Sula Vineyards, with almost 35 other wineries in India following suit over the next decade. The name "Sula" came from his mother's name - "Sulabha" - and symbolized the rich, Indian heritage of his wines. This was a wine that took pride in being Indian, being the first company in the country to use an Indian logo.
The first Sula wines, released in 2000, were widely acclaimed as India's best wines.

A second winery with 3x capacity came up in 2004 and a third winery with a million liter capacity followed in 2006. The original 30-acre estate now spans across 1500 acres (owned & outsourced) in Nashik and Dindori.
In addition to a India-wide national network, Sula also exports its wines internationally.

Of late, Sula vineyards has capitalized on its success and made a beautiful story of inviting tourists to its estate, courtesy two very good staying options, The Source and Beyond.

I have penned down our memorable trip to this place in different logical sections, as we went along each day.

[JoshMachine]

Day 1: enroute to Sula Vineyards

After getting some preliminary route details from the TBHP thread (Pune-Nasik route queries), I had charted a plan to start early around 0700 hrs.
But with a full family in tow, I knew this plan was going to be challenged. And we started only around 0800 hrs.

This time round, the definition of family took an expanded meaning: 4 adults + 1 teenager + 1 child. And to go along for the 3-day trip, few medium sized bags were thrown in the boot. The Vento couldn't have been more loaded!

The route was well documented by other BHPians and we stuck to the same:-

Warje (Pune) > Nashik phata > Moshi > Chakan > Rajgurunagar > Peth > Manchar > Kalamb > Narayangaon > Alephata > Sangamner > Sinnar > Nashik > Sula Vineyards.

Distance to be covered was approx 238 km, door to door.



To our pleasant surprise, the roads for majority of the duration were quite good.

Sample these:-





The good road quality for majority of the distance encouraged me to put the cruise control to use. Even though we started late by our admission, we still managed to beat the notorious traffic at Moshi and Chakan industrial belt.

And as suggested by fellow BHPians, we stopped by for breakfast at a lovely place called Akash Misal House, situated just after crossing Rajgurunagar:-





The place is spacious, and is well-managed. We savoured the famous kolhapuri misal, and drowned it with mugs of tea.
For the family, the important consideration of clean & hygienic washrooms was also met.

The Vento resting in the shade, good parking facility at the restaurant:-



The rest of the journey was uneventful, and we had to cross a fair amount of Nashik city towards the end, to reach our final destination.

The entire onward journey of approx 238 km was covered within 5 hrs 15 mins, including 45 mins of breakfast stoppage time. In hindsight, I felt this was good time covered.

The last couple of km near the Vineyards were iffy, and not that good. The Sula folks can, rather, should pay attention to the last mile and make it better.
The sign-boards showing the direction to Sula Vineyards pop up only when you are about 2 km away from the place. Till then, you have to rely either on GMaps or ask the locals for the best way.

[JoshMachine]

Day 1 (contd): at Sula Vineyards

Upon reaching the place, you are greeted by a rather large entrance gate:-





The parking option is discriminatory, in the sense that those who are staying (like us) get a nice covered parking but those who are not, have to do with the open makeshift ground (which can get messy during monsoon).

Our Vento tucked in alongwith a raft of Beemers, Merc et al, with a proper overhead parking cover:-



The entire resort infrastructure is built (or resembles), on the lines of a high-end, Tuscany styled resort - what with its artistic landscaped gardens, the lovely decor in the rooms, the charming attention to details all around, the winery - all conjuring up their own version of India's own desi yet classic take on the beautiful Florence region!

Have I euphemised a bit too much, maybe yes. This place does leave a good impression on you!

However, it is not without its own teeny-weeny 'niggles', bit on that later.

The resort has primarily two types of visitors - some, who choose to visit for the day (required to pay cover charges) and the others, who choose to stay for few days.

As per our original plans, we had booked 3 rooms at The Source, one of the 2 staying options. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we had to cancel a room and the guys at Sula were accommodating to refund the proceeds. Instead, we chose to consume the amount for meals and other stuff.

As I mentioned, the deco is classy, right from the entrance lobby:-



The tastefully done rooms:-





And the views outside our room, also rendered those curated landscaped looks:-







We just dumped our bags and took a short stroll to check out the surroundings, again witnessing some neat gardenscapes:-







Some more delightful places around, or Courts as they are called at Sula:-









And as is the norm at such nice places, you also have a nice pool to laze around:-



The water in this pool is heated in the mornings and early evenings, adding to that nice little touch of feel-good factor.



It being a winery after all, there are numerous wine bottle stacks all around the resort. Found all of them to be empty, though.





They served as excellent selfie points!

For those who do not want to miss out on these surreal vineyard experiences, here are some options to live & enjoy some of them:-



In the evening hours, we had booked (complimentary for those staying over) a winery tour with tasting option.



Well, this was the first of its kind when it came to wine tasting experiences for us and I can say that it was mesmerising to walk through a bustling winery and understanding the process of making wines from grape to glass.
Then we went on to taste Sula’s award-winning wines in a unique wine tasting room. It was a guided group tour as we watched the installations closely and had a fun time tasting them wines, while learning a few things!

The oakwood barrels neatly stacked up. They are essentially of two kinds - the American and the French:-



The controlled fermentation takes place in large stainless steel & aluminium containers:-



And finally, the tasting. The tour guide give you a brief understanding of the different types of wines and which occasions are suitable for consuming different types of wines.

Cheers!





After the wine tasting session, we just spent time around the place, soaking in some more enjoyment. And by evening, there was a chill in the air.

You have to give it to the Sula folks, there are lot of attractive paraphernalia set up all over - a very good place to get that perfect selfie!

[JoshMachine]

Day 1 (contd)...

At night, even the wineries are lit up like a dazzling daisy:-





Another selfie point:-



Besides the in-house restaurant, there is an option of the classical Little Italy also. Not sure if this Italian joint was invited to go along with the overall Tuscany setup or just a sheer coincidence.
And by the way, there is this amazing India touch, in the form of an exclusive restaurant called RASA (after the founder Rajeev Samant's name).



A closing night shot of the Court, as they call it:-

[JoshMachine]

Day 2 and 3: the fun continues..

Day 2 was spent in a more leisure-like manner, since we had covered quite a few places on the previous day.

So, we started with an early morning walk in the woods, eh, the winery:-







As can be noticed, some of the plantations are full of weeds + end of life, and we were told that these were being removed, and being replaced with fresh plantations in batches.









Some of the earlier grape vines had been planted almost 15-20 years ago and they were clearly devoid of any juice by now, literally!

The harvesting season is from January - March, and the crushing starts in parallel.
Sula grows its own grapes and also outsources them from local farmers.

Signboards like these speak about the proud heritage and the legacy of Sula:-



We continued wandering around the 30-acre property, and came across some more touristy spots:-









Some options to keep fit, while you are relaxing:-



As mentioned above, yes, the pool is heated. And I was told, the temperature could be managed to suit your requirements.



Dedicated cycling paths, earmarked at numerous places:-



And some off-beat but nice touches, adding to the beautiful scenery:-



If you get tired of walking or cycling, then there's the electric golf cart also to take you around:



Wine bottle stacks, with the celebratory Christmas tinge:



The entry to the main reception, or Cabarnet Court:



The place even has a nice amphitheatre, to house those music fests:




After some more loitering, we had a sumptuous breakfast at the in-house restaurant and after that, headed out.

Since we had lot of time on our hands during the day, we decided to pay a visit to the nearby Trimbakeshwar temple:



And how could we not savour the Gujrati Thali, at the famous Panchvati Yatri in Nashik city:



Back at the resort, went about with some more photoshopping:







Just in case anyone is interested to go the whole distance and buy a barrel, here's the place:



Now, here's a really useful guide to knowing & buying that precise category of wine:



We used this ready reckoner to figure out what we wanted and purchased few bottles at a good discount, since we were buying it from the resort itself.

One of the really famous spots, just near the entrance:



To round off the proceedings, they even offer a complimentary bottle of wine:



And with that, this memorable trip came to a wonderful end.
We all carried a nice feeling, the same feeling that you get after having that sumptuous dessert post a hearty meal

The check-out formalities on Day 3 were smooth except for one small issue. We were informed a day prior that there would be early lunch timings to suit our return travel timing, but when we actually went there, we got to know that wouldn't be the case. So, we had to make do with some all-day dining option instead of a proper meal before leaving.

The return trip back to Pune was uneventful, generally speaking. We left at 1300 hrs, and since we knew the roads well, we thought we could plan the stops at appropriate time intervals.

We made two stops, one for an early afternoon tea and the second for some tasty wadapav at the trusted Akash Misal House.

However as fate would have it, we met with some bad traffic near Chakan, and had to be patient to make our way through the heavy truck and car crawlers.

Reached home around 1930 hrs, and thanked the Vento for the nth time, for ensuring we had a comfortable ride with no drama whatsoever

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[SILVER-ARROW]

Nicely articulated post. Pictures did most of the talking

Was searching for a place without any hustle and bustle to spend new year’s eve. Your post has come just at the right time!

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

Thanks a lot, GTO!

Originally Posted by SILVER-ARROW

Nicely articulated post. Pictures did most of the talking

Was searching for a place without any hustle and bustle to spend new year’s eve. Your post has come just at the right time!

Thanks! When it comes to trips like these, I sometimes struggle to select the best / most appropriate pictures, glad you liked them over here

If you are planning to spend & stay for the new year's eve, you better hurry with the accommodation booking
I would recommend The Source (multiple room options) instead of Beyond (very difficult to get a booking).

[saikarthik]

Nice trip, pictures and glad that you had awesome time. I lived 15 kms from this place and the roads are good for a nice ride too, except few villages and speed bumps. There are couple of vineyards in same location, and Sula is the best, but Soma has amazing lakeview from atop.

You can do karting on the route too, it's not big, but decent enough within an adventure spot.

I have been to this place at least 3-4 times. The tour of vineyard itself is amazing and if you listen to the guide, they say some interesting things like, rose plants are planted around the grape fields to identify initial signs of disease as they are one of the most sensitive plants. Also, we tasted grapes from the vines and they are not like the regular ones and bitter. Food and stay was expensive in my opinion, but worth it.

[Raghu M]

Wow, that's a very cool place. Apart from anything else, I loved the temperature controlled pool!! Very well written. thank you.

[Excommunicado]

Being from Nashik, I think it is mandatory for me to reply, hence this post.
I am glad you enjoyed your trip to Sula Mr. JoshMachine sir. If you truly love Sula or vineyards in general, you must visit Nashik during Sulafest. You will have a blast. Apart from that Nashik is such a good place to live. No one wants their city to be over populated but I can't not recommend Nashik as one of the best place to live in India. Superb weather (touch wood), city on path of development and great people with great food. What else can one ask for ?
Dear BHPians, visit Nashik and simple relax!

[nitin_knw]

Wow What a Place! I am Visting Shirdi and Nasik is not far looking at the post inspired me to visit Nasik and Sule, Hows Panchavati Yatri for authentic Gujrati Dish? for a day visit to Sule do they have a Visit Plan?

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by saikarthik

Nice trip, pictures and glad that you had awesome time. I lived 15 kms from this place and the roads are good for a nice ride too, except few villages and speed bumps. There are couple of vineyards in same location, and Sula is the best, but Soma has amazing lakeview from atop.

[/center]I have been to this place at least 3-4 times. The tour of vineyard itself is amazing and if you listen to the guide, they say some interesting things like, rose plants are planted around the grape fields to identify initial signs of disease as they are one of the most sensitive plants. Also, we tasted grapes from the vines and they are not like the regular ones and bitter. Food and stay was expensive in my opinion, but worth it.

Thanks!
Good to know about Soma Vineyards also, have put that on my visit list for next year surely.
Yes, we got to know about the rose plants being planted in the periphery, doing the job of early pest/ damage detection.
As you might have known, the grapes grown here are different from what we generally get in the market. The vineyard grapes are meant typically for wine production and may not have the sweet/sour flavour that we get in the city.

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Wow, that's a very cool place. Apart from anything else, I loved the temperature controlled pool!! Very well written. thank you.

Thanks for the kind words, Raghu.

Originally Posted by Excommunicado

Being from Nashik, I think it is mandatory for me to reply, hence this post.
I am glad you enjoyed your trip to Sula Mr. JoshMachine sir. If you truly love Sula or vineyards in general, you must visit Nashik during Sulafest. You will have a blast. Apart from that Nashik is such a good place to live. No one wants their city to be over populated but I can't not recommend Nashik as one of the best place to live in India. Superb weather (touch wood), city on path of development and great people with great food. What else can one ask for ?
Dear BHPians, visit Nashik and simple relax!

Thanks, we definitely plan to visit Sula in the future.
We have similar feedback about the goodness of Nashik

Originally Posted by nitin_knw

Wow What a Place! I am Visting Shirdi and Nasik is not far looking at the post inspired me to visit Nasik and Sule, Hows Panchavati Yatri for authentic Gujrati Dish? for a day visit to Sule do they have a Visit Plan?

Panchvati Yatri is very good place to have the Gujarati thali. Please note, however, they serve only the standard thali and no other dish
Btw, they also have accommodation option but not sure how it is.

And Sula also does have a day-visit option, I guess there is some cover charge for that.
When we stayed there, quite a few folks had come in for a day visit.

[swapnil.awate]

Beautiful pics and crisp description. Glad you liked Nashik.
For overall vineyard experience I would recommend Sula, Soma and Vallonne. By overall, I mean wine tour, tasting, food, accommodation and ambience.
Vallonne is off Nashik-Mumbai highway. Mumbaikars can plan a day trip as well.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

The route was well documented by other BHPians and we stuck to the same:-

Warje (Pune) > Nashik phata > Moshi > Chakan > Rajgurunagar > Peth > Manchar > Kalamb > Narayangaon > Alephata > Sangamner > Sinnar > Nashik > Sula Vineyards.

Distance to be covered was approx 238 km, door to door.

Attachment 2249107

To our pleasant surprise, the roads for majority of the duration were quite good.

So your travelogue has made me to empty my pockets and go for the kill at the very last moment. Before the balance in the account turns negative, how was the route specifically between Alephata > Sangamner > Sinnar > Nashik? My trip will be done on a sedan with a lower GC than vento hence the goose bumps.

Sometime stories like this keep inspiring other folks to step out again. Art of story telling and keeping folks engrossed is bestowed upon few. Very well documented & thanks for sharing.