(Audrey) I currently can’t leave India as a condition of my grant, but there’s nothing to prevent me from bringing the West to India in any way I can muster. So, as a Christmas present to myself and my husband, we decided to go wine-tasting in India. For this we headed to Nashik Valley in Maharashtra, a fertile region a few hours from Mumbai that houses a large chunk of India’s growing wine industry.
The area is quite lovely, lush, red dirt, grapes growing, everything you would expect of a wine growing region (I think, anyways). Wine production in India is only ten years old, but the market is growing fast. To the point that a few wineries even have tasting rooms, tours, and restaurants now. We began our afternoon at York Wineries, a winery only three years old and who has sold only one round of wines so far. We actually had never seen their wine in Delhi, so the entire thing was new to us. They had a lovely bar/tasting room—
York has yet to advertise their tasting room, so we were the only ones there (for anybody who may go, head towards Sula wines and then follow the signs about a kilometer past the turnoff for Sula). We learned a few things from the helpful young men at York. One, Indians like wine sweet; our response was that we know, we’ve been drinking the wine here for four months wondering what happened to earthy tones and dry wines. Second, marketing is very much on the minds of Indian wine makers. Also, the gentlemen running the tasting kindly informed us that York is “York” in India because it sounds foreign. But overseas, in the U.K. and hopefully soon the U.S., they sell as “Mantra”…. because Westerners also like things that sound foreign. We are all so alike, no?
After York, we headed over to Sula. Sula Vineyards has been around for 10 years; they really pioneered wine growing in India. When people come to Nashik, including us, it’s really Sula that they’re coming for. They’ve got 2 restaurants, a beautiful tasting room, and quite a view.
At Sula we were with a few dozen other people. First interesting tidbit—wine touring/tasting in India is a family affair. About half the people there had children under the age of 10 with them, not drinking of course but still going along with the ride. Second, there were a few people on our tour that had only had wine a few times in their entire lives. It really highlighted for us how drinking wine is an aspirational thing in India, a mark of the emerging middle class. Finally, Indians still like their wines really sweet. Not only are Sula’s wines kind of like candy (good candy), but their tasting consisted of 3 whites, 2 roses, and only 1 red! Nobody seemed to like the red (a Zinfandel) except us. After the tour, we relaxed over crackers, cheese, salami, olives, and more wine while thinking…. this is the way to do India.
Tags: India, mantra, nashik, nashik valley, sula, wine, wine tasting, winery, york
December 30, 2009 at 6:18 pm |
Are ladies offered wine in Asia? When I lived there my husband was offered beer or spirits. At business dinners I was given the choice or mango, pineapple juice, or cola. I also remember it was customary for the host or hostess to do some small entertainment after the meal, something a glass of wine would have helped. I recall we’d make our daughters sing a duet or play the piano, because I really don’t have any musical talents.
December 31, 2009 at 6:50 am |
(Audrey) Maybe India is different or times are changing, but yes, if liquor is served I’m offered it in India and nobody looks twice. Generally, they still hand Thane the wine/drink list (and the bill!), but women drinking is increasingly commonplace. It’s my type of equality really.
As a side note, Pakistan is a different story in my experience. When we were there a few years ago, Thane was routinely offered various liquor and drugs whereas soda/juice were my only options.