Last Updated on March 5, 2024 by admin
A popular weekend destination from Mumbai and Pune, Sula offers a lot of things to do, see or relax. I always wondered if ‘Is Sula Vineyards worth the visit’ and I thought to give it a try.
The popularity of Sula fest over the years has made everyone think about visiting Sula at least once!
A popular destination from Nashik, it is visited by wine connoisseurs as well as tourists who want to look at a grape farm or grab a bite at their restaurant.
In this post, I talk about the winemaking and its history but most importantly, I share my review of the Sula Vineyards tours and tasting and try to answer the question – Is Sula Vineyards worth the visit?
Table of Contents
What and where is Sula Vineyards?
Sula Vineyards is the top wine producer in India and has the most accessible winery. From humble beginnings in 1997, Sula Vineyards has admirably developed into a world-class winery with boutique guest accommodations. The winery is open to visitors, who can enjoy a tour, tastings, courses, and fun events. With 2 major wineries in the countries, Nashik is the smaller one but still unique enough of an operation to not feel too commercial but large enough to provide visitors with an awesome tour and tasting.
Sula Vineyards from Nashik – The distance
The winery is located on the outskirts of Nashik, and takes about 30 minutes to reach. It is conveniently located 4 hours each from Mumbai and Pune and thus is a happening weekend destination and makes Sula Vineyards worth the visit.
Sula Vineyard tour and tasting
Like most wine tours, it begins with the history of Sula, leads you through the vinification process and warehouse and then ends with a tasting. The entry ticket to this is IR 400 per person which will cover a 30 minute escorted tour of the winery, including the processing rooms, and tasting of six wines. The tours take place every 45 minutes between 11:30 am and 6:30 pm (7:30 pm on weekends) everyday (except dry days), and provide a good insight into the winemaking process. The Sula tour is very personal and educational. The tour guide tells about the types of grapes harvested – green and black and the kind of wines made from them.
Then they take you through the entire process of crushing, fermentation, pressing, clarification, aging and bottling from beginning to end and I was to take a peek inside the warehouse where some wood barrels are as old as 20 year old.
The tasting, of course, is the most exciting part of the tour. Wine etiquette like temperature, smell, swirl and combination food are discussed in the Tasting Room. These were the 6 wines up for tasting, served with biscuits.
Sula Brut Chardonnay
The Chardonnay is a sparkling wine that is light and fresh having biscuit dough aromas whilst the palate features crisp chardonnay flavours and light crack yeast lees characteristics.
Sula Sauvignon Blanc
This wine made the world sit up and take notice of Indian wines. Herbaceous, crisp, WHITE and dry, with aromas of bell peppers, intermingled with tropical fruits like passion fruit and gooseberry with a racy, zingy finish.
Sula Dindori Reserve Chardonnay
An exotic elixir of peach and lychee flavours is a white wine. Floral, spicy, stunning. Great as an aperitif and terrific with spicy food, blue/goat cheese as well as seafood.
Sula Rasa Syrah
Went a little BOLD with this one, not my style but my Malay sweetheart enjoyed this one so I am sure, this will be a treat for Red wine lovers.
Sula Rasa Cabernet Sauvignon
A red wine, worthy of a collector’s edition! It is aged in French oak barrels for over a year which makes it into a velvety smooth wine with a powerful finesse with a hint of fruit and spice.
Sula Chenin Blanc
Chenin Blanc is India’s best selling white wine and is cold-fermented and finished in a semi-dry style. It is a light, fresh, fruity character, which makes it an excellent aperitif.
Remember Rules for the road
It is vitally important to adhere to the drinking and driving laws of India. The alcohol limit while driving is 0% so stay in your limits. If you don’t have a car, you can call for an Uber to take you back to Nashik city.
Sustainability at Sula
I was really intrigued to know about the sustainability practised by Sula as I saw many boards claiming it. So I went ahead and asked the tour guide and this is what he told me and boy was I impressed!
Solar power
More than 75% of power used in Sula Vineyards comes from solar energy. Almost all the rooftops at the hotel, offices and restaurant are covered with solar panels in the vineyards.
Water recycling
Sula has really made sustainability seriously. With water efficient bathroom fittings in rooms, there are signs encouraging visitors and hotel guests to turn off taps. An effluent treatment plant (ETP) on site ensures all the water used in premises is treated and reused. This treated and disinfected water is used in housekeeping and also in the vineyards.
Drip irrigation
In order to cut down on traditional irrigation practices which use a lot of water, drip irrigation system is installed in vineyards which cuts water consumption by almost half.
No plastic zone
There are no PET bottles for sale or in use at Sula hotel or restaurants. PET bottles are replaced by reusable glass bottles for mineral water. Dedicated efforts are undertaken to eradicate plastic from all food and beverage offerings, including cutlery and packaging.
No waste zone
Sula has its own biogas unit which is fueled by food waste generated by the restaurants. Hence there is no sent to landfills.
Best from waste
Sula went a step forward to use the last bit of waste from grapes – the grapeseed. They used to compost it but due to its stony nature, they did not decompose soon. Hence Sula introduced grapeseed oil made from it – using all bits of waste and putting it in good use.
Supporting the local community
As a part of CRS mandate, Sula employees the local community from the surrounding village.
When to Visit Sula Vineyards
Sula is open all year, Monday to Sunday, and there are several activities every day. The grape season is from January to March and hence it is the best time to see them grow in the vineyard and process. That is also the reason why Sula fest is conducted in February every year.
Accommodation at Sula
Sula Vineyards offers two options for visitors who want to stay near the vineyard.
Beyond by Sula
It has seven rooms plus a separate 3-bedroom villa, overlooking the lake. You can book it here.
The Source at Sula
It is a 23 room resort (including four tree houses) in the middle of the vineyards, built to resemble a Tuscan mansion. It has a swimming pool, tennis court, and spa. You can book it here.
Alternatively, staying in Nashik is a convenient option for visiting Sula. You can stay at Holiday Inn Express for a comfortable and budget stay.
Food at Sula
Whether you choose the tasting tour or not, you want to spend some time at their restaurant – Little Italy for snacks or meals with wine. To accompany the wine, you can order a platter of assorted cheeses, crackers, olives, nuts, and dried fruit. There is another restaurant – Soma which specializes in north Indian cuisine.
So is Sula Vineyards worth the visit?
Definitely YES!
If you like wines and want to have a relaxed day around the vineyards.
If you don’t drink alcohol, there are many photo points and activities to do. The popular grape stomping at Sula happens from mid-February to mid-March and one can enjoy it.
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Disclaimer – This post contains affiliate links. It means it adds no extra cost to you if you book through the link but I get a referral bonus which helps me earn a little to keep this website up and running.
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16 comments
I am very interested in wine and vineyards and I did not know Sula in India. Thank you for making me learn something new today. If I ever get a chance to travel to India, I would definitely want to include a visit to Sula in my itinereray. I was particularly impressed reading about their environmental and energy efficience efforts. Outstanding! I wonder if my local wine shop imports Indian wine at all? I need to look into that, I would love to sample some!
Sula has started exporting wine to a few countries but you won’t find this Indian version in a wine rich country maybe? But worth a try 🙂
Whaoo … I didn’t know India had vineyards! And this one looks really nice. I visited a few in the South of France and most can’t be bothered with giving tours of the property. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, these vineyards started some 2 decades ago and it is so much fun to visit it. I am glad we have a few of these in India now 🙂
The Sula Vineyards look amazing! I love that you included all their sustainability initiatives, so nice to see they are doing there part, and this even further entices me to go. I think the wine stomping looks exciting but I’m not sure how I’d feel about drinking wine my feet were in 🙂
They clarified during the tour that stomping is only for a fun activity and that the feet stomped liquid is never used in actually making wine!
The Sula Winery sounds like a really nice size. Big enough to offer the tours, as you said, but not so huge that’s over-commercialised. I absolutely LOVE how eco-friendly this place is! They’ve really gone beyond the usual and created something very sustainable. I think it’s worth a visit just to support that style of business.
I enjoyed even more because of their sustainable initiatives.
We love to visit vineyards all over the world. I was happy to read that you would recommend a visit. It was good to learn that the Sula Vineyards are located so close to Mumbai. Good for a day visit. But with boutique guest accommodations, we might want to stay and enjoy a little more wine. So great that they have so many different sustainability practices in place. I am not sure how many vineyards would go as far as producing grapeseed oil!
I know, right? I was so impressed with their sustainability initiatives. And they wear it so proudly!
There was Sula wine launch here some time back that is only wine tasting I attended. I remember the wine tasting process… swirl and stuffs like that 🙂 Good that you added the caution of punishable offense of drink and drive. Will check out the different varieties from market.
Glad to know you attended the launch event and had a good time there.
I had no idea that India had vineyards!! But I LOVE visiting wineries. I use to work at one, and often plan trips to wine-centric regions. So this is great to know! I’m so curious about what a winery in India is like and would definitely visit here if I find myself in that part of the country.
Wow I wonder what would have been like working in a vineyard!
ohh my gosh, My visit to Sula Wineyards are Pending since Long.I haven’t taken any wine tours and starting it from india at Nashik seems great Option. I have heard they arrange Festival also,did you attended it or not??
I went the next weekend after Sula fest! I am allergic to the kind of crowds there are these days. That being said, I did attend the first Sula fest way back in 2008 or 2009 when I can in college and drove down there with friends. It was small and fun, not an international event then. But you should visit if you get a chance. It is amazing.