A family trip to Nashik

The hectic work schedules often don’t leave the five of us with too much of family time. If you have been following my blog, you must have noticed in my previous posts that mountains are my landscape of choice (you can read about them here). My parents prefer skipping the harsh winter months of the North and fly down to Mumbai to stay with my brother, which also gives me an excuse to travel down and plan a vacation with them. Honestly, Nashik was never on my bucket list but traveling to the mountains with hardly 2 days in hand and with parents wasn’t a very good idea. So it was mutually decided that Nashik would be perfect for a comfortable weekend getaway and a much-needed family time. Last year we all soaked up in the Goa sun and this time around both Vikram (my brother) and me wanted to plan a Wine-cation. 

Nashik – Approximately 180 km from Mumbai is an ideal weekend getaway and is India’s own Napa Valley. Nashik is a 3 hours picturesque drive from Mumbai. We stayed at The Source in Sula which is at the heart of the Sula vineyard and claims to be country’s first heritage winery resort. In 1999, Rajeev Samant established Sula Vineyards, Nashik’s first winery and paved the way for the emergence of India’s Wine Capital, with almost 35 other wineries following suit in the region over the next decade. The name “Sula” came from his mother’s name – “Sulabha” – and symbolized the rich, Indian heritage of his wines. Today, Sula is India’s leading wine company and is leading the charge of Indian wine across the wine world.

The Source, a 23-room boutique hotel adjacent to the winery. The architecture has a very Tuscan spirit with spacious courtyards, high ceilinged rooms with massive mirrors in the rooms. There are four tree houses; wooden cottages erected upon sturdy iron trunks, bordering a 10-acre vineyard. 

Tour of the Wineries

The wine tour is the biggest highlight and a massive crowd puller of Sula. For a wine lover, the tour is pure Gold. Sula offers for an exclusive, all-access tour of the winery with a knowledgeable guide who will take you back to Sula’s early years as well as every step along the way in the making of the wines. Tours take place every hour, and end with a personalized wine tasting at The Tasting Cellar where their team will take you through the five steps of tasting wines. 

The tour explains the fine details from holding a wine glass to swirling and sniffing a wine and how to pair your wine glass with the different categories of foods. I’ll save details of swirling and sniffing a wine for a later post. 

Every year Sula organizes Sula fest where you can find gourmet food, great drinks,  and a plethora of fun-filled activities to round off the event. If even a subtle mention of wine interests you, then the wine tour in Nashik will surely entice your palette. Afterall Wine is Bottled Poetry

Adios to the countryside of Maharashtra. 

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