27 February,2014 10:06 AM IST | | Ruchika Kher
The buzz around wine is huge. Vineyards are looking at maxing the wine tourism experience in Maharashtra. Scenic locales, wine trails, luxe retreats; the great escape is a just few hours away
Wine Tourism in Maharashtra
Last month, Grover Zampa, one of India's oldest wineries, announced the launch of a resort at their Sanjegaon, Nashik vineyard, hinting at their foray into wine tourism. While wine labels like Sula and Indage were among the first to cash in on the concept, the trend is finally finding a strong footing as players from all over are taking the plunge.
Sula offers comfortable staying options and tours of its vineyard and winery along with wine tasting sessions
The time is ripe
"Sula has been conducting wine tours even before the tasting room opened in 2005. We believe that we need to provide a memorable experience to visitors besides educating and making them taste wine," says Ajoy Shaw, chief winemaker and vice-president, winemaking, Sula. When they started the tasting room, it saw a slow stream of visitors but now, nearly 1,50,000 visitors drop by, annually. "Initially, people from Mumbai and Pune would come by, but in the past two-three years, we've had visitors from Kochi, Chandigarh and Sikkim," he shares.
The bottling plant at Fratelli
Grover Zampa Vineyards is a new entrant in the wine tourism space; its CEO Sumedh Mandla feels that the existence of the resort, to be positioned on a hill overlooking a lake, will offer the complete wine experience, and be a strong marketing tool to push the brand.
Festivals loaded with fun dos, music and of course, a variety of wines, also play a key role in drawing people. The Sula Fest, The Great Grover Stomp, The York Live Festival and the India Grape Harvest Wine Festival have grown to become annual crowd pullers.
Grover Zampa organises an annual grape stomping festival
Shift towards wine
Wine is also now a popular choice among the masses. Kapil Sekhri, co-owner and director, Fratelli Wines explains the change, "Today, many more people travel abroad, than before. There is more exposure and awareness. Also, younger India has more disposable income than previous generations."
He comments that as a result, people have adapted to wine drinking, looking at their counterparts in the West and since, today's consumer needs to know the source of their products, wine tourism is witnessing a growth.
More impetus needed
Industry experts feel that wine road shows can take wines to two-tier cities. Wine festivals, tastings, and wine and food pairings can increase consumption. "Special buses could be run by the Government or local bodies to wineries. More vineyard resorts should be encouraged," opines Shaw. Sekhri feels that "Better roads, faster access to wineries will change fortunes."
A clear view
Overall, Shaw lays it on the table that the wine industry in India is growing at 25% for the last few years. In 2010, we were consuming 10ml of wine per capita. This has increased to about 20ml. This can go up but India has a long way to catch up even with Kenya or Egypt.
