A Day at Sula Vineyards, Nashik (The Wine Capital)

So my 27th birthday was at the wine capital of India! It was a surprise trip and my husband managed to pull it off without me getting the slightest hint. 

I have always wanted to visit Nashik in Winter, mainly for the weather. However, we visited in April (wasn't that bad to be honest). The evenings were pleasant and mornings humid of-course, but better than Mumbai so I made my peace with it. 

Now when you say Nashik, it sounds like a place meant for religious people. But it is not. It is the wine capital of India. There are as many as 29 wineries in Nashik, other than Sula so you kind of are spoilt for choice. Since this was our first, we wanted to visit Sula Vineyards. 

Mumbai to Nashik is a 4 hour ride, excluding halts. We checked in at Ibis, which was pretty decent for a nights stay. Freshened up and left to have lunch nearby. When in Nashik, you got to eat the Malvan way. 

Post a very good & heavy lunch, we headed straight for Sula. 

The road that takes you to the vineyard is gorgeous with lush green pastures on both sides. It's a pretty sight! Sula has a massive parking area so park your vehicle and head inside. They started charging an entry fee of 200-250 bucks since 2018. This is for roaming around the enter vineyard. For wine tour and tasting you have to get your ticket inside and they will take you in batches. 

We went up to the restaurant, which was packed with no space whatsoever. We decided to check out the whole place, take pictures at all the picture points, buy souvenirs from their store etc. 

At first we did not want to the tour & tasting, but we ended doing it anyways because why not. If you know squat about wines and their making, please do opt for this tour. They will take you through the nitty gritty of how a wine is made from scratch. The whole set up is set in a cold environment, which is still bearable. The wines are stored in deep refrigerator which is super cold. You can go around everything in this tour and see barrels and barrels of wine for yourself. 

The last bit is the best - tasting! Flash your tickets and you will each get a tall wine glass. We got to taste 6 different types of wine here. After each tasting, they give you water so you can ready your taste buds for the next wine. Not just this, the instructor will actually show you best way to drink the wine, hold the glass and what not! I was more interested in the wine that kept pouring ;)

You'll be a little tipsy by the end of it!

Post touring & tasting, we headed to the restaurant for a quick snack. By this time, it was relatively empty and we found a spot with a nice view. This is the view from the restaurant in the evening. 

Enjoy a bottle of wine with this view to take in!

On our way out, we picked up about 10 bottles of our favourite wine in general and few more faves from the tasting session, and headed back to the hotel. 

Sula Vineyards has it's own stay options, which is obviously a tad bit expensive. A day's visit is all you need to explore the vineyard in the best possible way!

Don't forget to click pictures in all the photo ops in the vineyard!