India’s 'Napa Valley': Sula vineyard pioneers eco-friendly wine in an emerging market

Turning left onto a paved road, the large signs reveals a change of atmosphere. For the past three kilometres, the dirt roads, shops with thatched roofs and meandering cows marked the road from Nasik in India’s Western Maharashtra state to the country’s world-class Sula Vineyards, an oasis in the desert.

Each side of the road is an expanse of land unlike any other in India. Here is wine country. Sula Vineyards was the first vineyard to open in the area, bringing wine-making in India to the attention of the world. Already, it has garnered much attention, and visitors to the vineyard here in Nasik are able to see first-hand the effort to develop and make high quality wines.

'This is just tasty wine and I have already bought three bottles,' English visitor Thomas Ulman from Bristol told The Ecologist as he sat on the balcony overlooking acres of grapes. 'It is still unknown to many Western wine drinkers, but hopefully Sula will become a household name in the years to come.'

He is one of the few visitors who took a tour of the expanse that is Sula Wines, getting a tour and a special tasting of the offerings. Below the bar, where barman Rajeev pours glasses of their latest...

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