Wine Music, Fine Music.
Nestled amidst the outskirts of Nashik city, Sula Vineyards is the brainchild of Rajeev Samant – Having left his high tech job in the silicon valley, he decided to do something on his own. He figured that the northwest Maharashtrain skies provided the pefect climate for Wine making and went about setting up Sula Vineyards. A little more than a decade since its formation, one can safely say that Sula today is the country’s leading wine brand. However, why would a music magazine cover a vineyard? Read on further to know.
Tasting Room
The first thing that comes to mind when ‘wine’ gets mentioned is possibly the blood red liquid in a very fine looking glass with a long stem. The romantics are already thinking of a beautiful woman holding that glass with good food spread out on a dining table. What completes the setting then? Ah yes, Violins. Speaking of which, we come to the music. Music and alcohol have always gone hand in hand, be it at a house party, marriages, a gig at your local pub, a concert at a stadium or as the people at Sula would like it – A Vineyard!
A vineyard typically consists of its plantations, a winery where production happens, an office place, etc, etc. and it is much the same at Sula. They take you through a tour of their winery with a friendly in house sommelier offering you as much knowledge as you can take in while you observe various stages of the fine art of wine making. What makes Sula different to everything that is on offer elsewhere is their combination of wine and entertainment.
Amidst the picturesque vineyards are two restaurants. Get past them and you come face to face with the sprawling amphitheatre. If food and wine at one of the most aesthetically stunning locations in Maharashtra wasn’t enough, there is more coming your way! This heady combination accompanied by the steady wind blowing across the vineyard makes one forget the fact that it is just a four hour drive from the country’s commercial capital. The feel is very European. The perfect getaway for a weekend, if you can find a booking that is.
Sula Amphitheater
The amphitheatre at Sula was yet again a Rajeev Samant initiative. “Having seen a Grateful Dead performance at the Stanford university amphitheatre, he decided that he would build a beautiful amphitheatre sometime in future and here we are!” beams Sunila Duggal, Associate Vice President and Marketing Head at Sula. “The Ambience, weather, acoustics, etc. set it apart as a live venue. It is a unique experience for people who come. The amphitheatre being set in natural surroundings makes it a great place for concerts, festivals and other cultural events.”
The amphitheatre is today well known for the crucial part it has played in hosting Sula’s best known entertainment front – Sulafest. Started in 2008 to celebrate a decade of Sula Wines, Sulafest started out with just about five hundred people in attendance for the inaugural occasion. Sulafest 2011 had a crowd of around four thousand revelers taking in the sights and sounds put together by team Sula. “This was the fourth edition of Sulafest and we had to shut ticket sales two or three days prior to the fest because we were sold out, we focused on setting up different lounges and got a sponsor on board so our visitors could have a super time!” says Sunila Duggal. Some of India’s best live acts like Something Relevant, Raghu Dixit, Shaa’ir + Func, Pentagram, et al have performed at this much sought after venue for performers and the audience alike.
“We look at Sulafest as a way of getting our customers closer to their wines as they get to try so many kinds of wines here” she says as she discusses further about Sula’s commitment towards their entertainment branch. There are concrete plans to extend the Sulafest into a two day festival while they also remain very open to renting out their amphitheatre for other events. “Weddings, cultural events, theatre, parties, we hosted ‘Class of 84’ sometime ago and this year we will be looking forward to hosting a couple of more plays at the venue.”
“Inspired by Sulafest, there are many who wish for a music festival or a one off gig at such a venue every three or six months and for that we are ready to provide them with the venue” says the enthusiastic Rupesh Kotian, Assistant Manager (Banquets and Events) at Sula. He also makes it clear that Sula isn’t bound by genre specifications of any kind and remains very open.
Sula’s growth has also contributed in their becoming a major source of pride for the city that it belongs to. Nashik, is now known as the ‘wine capital’ of India thanks also to many other brands that have come up in various pockets in and around the city, though Sula’s initiatives have helped its citizens find a new source for entertainment. “Early on when Sulafest was started, there were hardly around a hundred people from within Nashik, most of the people had come in from Mumbai. But now, also because of our positive relations with the people of Nashik, we find that the numbers are increasing and there is more awareness around here” says Rupesh Kotian.
All in all, if you haven’t been to the Sula vineyards yet, we at The Big M suggest you go take a look. Sulafest 2011 is done with but 2012 promises to be a two day event so keep an eye out. Also if you hear about an event happening there that interests you, don’t wait for a second opinion. Plug in your car keys and rush out of the madness to the serenity that awaits you at Sula.
Vignesh Iyer
