Nose out the secrets of Indian viticulture on a winery tour

People are often surprised to discover that anyone in India makes wine, and the story of how this vineyard came to be here outside Bangalore is one that we discuss on our winery tours. Briefly, Kanwal Grover – the ‘father of Indian viticulture’ – and Georges Vesselle planted the first French varieties of grapes here in 1988, experimenting to see which of 33 different types would work best in our climate and soil, and it’s grown from there.

The winery is in a peaceful and beautiful setting at the foot of the Nandi Hills, where Tipu Sultan once had his summer retreat, and the sight of rows and rows of vines stretching away into the distance is magical. I think some of our visitors come here as much for the scenery as anything, though they’re also curious to learn more about such new New World wines.

As we walk around the different parts of the winery, we explain the processes involved in creating a finished bottle of red, white, rosé and sparkling. We take people through from sorting and crushing the grapes to labelling and packaging, and we show them the barrel room where some of the more expensive wines are aged in oak barrels. Finally, our visitors actually get to taste some of the wines they’ve been learning about under the guidance of a professional sommelier – for me, it’s hands-down the best bit!