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Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. Main Office 630 3rd Ave Adminstration 50 Avon Meadow Lane
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Sula Vineyards
Situated 180 km northeast of Mumbai, Nashik is India’s largest grape-growing region, but had traditionally never been used to grow wine grapes. Wondering why, an enterprising, Stanford-trained engineer named Rajeev Samant quit his hi-tech Silicon Valley job in 1993 to do some investigating. A little research quickly showed that the Nashik climate was not only perfect for wine grapes, but was also on par with winegrowing regions in Spain, California, and Australia. His determination doubled, Rajeev returned to California in search of a winemaker. In Sonoma County he found Kerry Damskey, an eminent Californian winemaker, who enthusiastically agreed to help start a winery on Rajeev’s 30 acre family estate. In 1997, the duo took the revolutionary step of planting French Sauvignon Blanc and Californian Chenin Blanc, varieties that had never before been planted in India. The first Sula wines, released in 2000, were widely acclaimed as India’s best white wines. Since its inception, Sula has rapidly established itself as India’s leading premium wine brand, helping spark a wine revolution that has seen consumption grow at 25% annually and several new wineries come up in the Nashik area. In November 2002, Wine Spectator – the world's No.1 wine magazine – did a five-page feature on Sula, a proud first for an Indian winery. A second winery with three times the capacity of the first was completed in late 2004 to keep up with demand, and a third 1-million litre winery is set to be operational in 2006. Sula has expanded from the original 30 acre family estate to having about 400 acres under plantation, both in Nashik as well as in nearby Dindori, the latest up-and-coming wine region. Varietals planted include Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Zinfandel and Merlot along with the original Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. In addition to having a wide national distribution network within India, Sula also exports its wines internationally, as well as importing and distributing wines from leading producers worldwide. In 2005, Sula proudly launched its first reserve wine, the Dindori Reserve Shiraz, as well as India’s first dessert wine, the Late Harvest Chenin Blanc. The winery is open to the public for educational tours, and the beautiful Tasting Room invites visitors to enjoy their favourite Sula wines amidst spectacular views of the vineyards and surrounding lakes and hills. Firmly committed to remaining at the forefront of Indian wines, Sula
continues to experiment with new varietals, engage in sustainable agriculture,
support the local rural economy, and, of course, make wines of outstanding
quality and superb value. Founders
Rajeev Samant is new India’s entrepreneurial shining star. Or sun, rather, given the widespread international recognition the Sula Vineyards’ solar logo has gotten. At the peak of his career as one of the youngest finance managers of software giant Oracle in San Francisco, this Stanford graduate quit his job and returned home to India with the seemingly crazy idea of growing grapes and making wine. He turned his attentions to a family-owned plot of 30 acres in Nashik, India’s most important table-grape growing region just 180 km from Mumbai. The terroir and climate there were, in fact, ideally suited to growing wine grapes, but nobody had really considered the idea as a viable business proposition. Rajeev teamed up with Kerry Damskey, a leading winemaker from California’s Sonoma Valley, and planted the first vines in 1997. Despite a great deal of initial resistance – the wine business in India was practically nonexistent, and getting a winery license was difficult – Rajeev’s dream to start his own venture and be his own boss has quickly become a reality. His distinctly Californian philosophy of a winery open to the public has sparked a wine revolution, leading to an excellent atmosphere of cooperation between the growing number of wineries in the area. “The wine industry is growing at the rate of 25-30% per annum, and Sula has been growing even faster than that. We’re making wines of international standards and are being welcomed as the ambassadors of Indian wine across the globe, including in France, Italy, the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland,” he says, beaming proudly from the balcony of the spectacular Tasting Room overlooking the vineyards, where visitors can enjoy their favourite Sula wines after a tour of the facilities. “Looking back, the journey here has been challenging as well as incredibly rewarding. It’s great to be my own boss – I travel to exciting places at short notice without having to worry about my vacation day balance, because ultimately, I’m accountable to myself. I can’t think of anyone who is happier with their job. Hugh Hefner, maybe,” says the effervescent entrepreneur with a twinkle in his eye. Sula’s sun is showing no signs of setting anytime soon.
Kerry’s winemaking philosophy is simple and straightforward: it takes great grapes to make great wine. “It’s the winemaker’s job to articulate a definable style for a wine but you don’t create an identity – that comes from the grapes, and the grapes’ identity is directly linked to where and how they are grown,” he explains. He likens his approach to that of a gem cutter. “You have to start with high quality raw materials, and be able to identify them. Then it’s like cutting facets in a diamond or emerald to show off what’s inside and highlight it.” By the time he was in high school, Kerry knew that he wanted to spend his life as a winemaker. Growing up in San Francisco, California, Kerry’s visits with his family to winegrowing regions around the Bay Area whetted his thirst for the craft. His mother gifted him the classic winemaking text Table Wines: The Technology of their Production in California when he was a high school senior, and that was all it took. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the enology and viticulture program at the University of California at Davis. Four years later, degree in hand, Kerry set off to test his recently acquired skills in the winemaking world. He worked for wineries from Lodi to San Diego, honing his “nuts and bolts” knowledge of the industry. In 1986, he achieved his long-time goal of making wine in Sonoma County when he was appointed winemaker for the old Zellerbach Winery in Chalk Hill. Here, he established himself as one of Sonoma County’s best winemakers, winning awards for several of his wines. A chance meeting with Rajeev Samant - a young, energetic Indian entrepreneur who had the crazy idea of setting up a winery in India - piqued Kerry’s interest. “I wanted to find vineyard locations that yielded distinctive fruit, because that creates distinctive wines. And when you walk the Sula vineyards, you know that this is a singular location.” He has studied for the Master of Wine examination, a rigorous program. “I’m still a student,” he says, “and I’m studying terroir, the ingredients that make a great wine. If you want to make singular wines, you never lose the passion that keeps you looking and learning more.” Kerry is currently the primary consultant for Sula Vineyards. |
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Our
Story
RAJEEV
SAMANT
KERRY
DAMSKEY
