Fermented Grape Juice

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Our 100th Blog Entry!!

Nasik (or Nashik) is one of India's most famous holy cities sitting on the banks of the spiritual River Godavari but that's not the main reason why we came. It is a place of common pilgrimage amongst millions of Hindus but that's not why we came. Nasik is home to thousands of temples and colourful bathing Ghats but that's not why we came. No, the reason we came is because Nasik is the home of the pioneers of Indian wine - you may scoff but it's true and we were ready to take a quaff and taste it for ourselves.

We'd tried some vino in Bangalore but it's damn expensive at around Rs. 2,000 (abouit 20 quid) for a cheap bottle of imported plonk. Since on average, a decent meal for two, of three courses, in a top-class restaurant, costs about Rs.700, you can see how overpriced the stuff is. What the market needs are home-grown producers to make the stuff affordable for the masses and in Nasik, a company has stepped up to the plate. We had heard good reports about the stuff being produced at the Sula estate - commended for its Shiraz Reserve and its Cabernet-Shiraz blend, it's fair to say that the wine is genuinely drinkable and to be taken very seriously. They're importing the stuff to the States and Europe and from what I hear it goes down very well. Indians have a very sweet-tooth so the whites which hit the domestic market are often on the sweeter side of medium, such as the sweet chenin-blanc, the biggest seller out of the vineyards. They're also trying to educate Indians about wine and marketing it as a food rather than an alcoholic beverage - something that puts off many and also brings about greater duties. We went for the reds and I can report, they were very good. They've got a swish little tasting room and they serve you up a glass along with some nice cheese and olives whilst enjoying views across the estate - it's pretty cool and you feel like you're in the Provence or Tuscany rather than Southern India. If you see the stuff on the shelves with its big sun emblem, give it a taste, I think you'll be surprised...

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Photos

The Examination
They look good. They're round and claret coloured - yep, they're grapes alright.

Bombay Mix
Make your own...