AFTER a recent whirlwind adventure in India, Queensland Country Life journalist SALLY CRIPPS writes she was shocked to stumble across a delightful sauv-blanc.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
WHEN I say the word “India”, is wine the first thing that comes to mind? I’m guessing no, you thought more about curries.
I’ve sampled my fair share of Australian wine over the years so when I heard we were going to a wine bar and restaurant serving Indian wine for lunch, I was pretty keen.
I’d already discovered India’s wine culture was fairly nascent – we were served Jacob’s Creek chardonnay at our welcome drinks and sauv blanc was unknown to the five star hotel I was staying at – but I was pleasantly surprised to discover how drinkable my Tiger Hill white wine was.
It piqued my interest enough to seek out the manager of Chateau Indage, Jitendra Gadhave to find out more about India’s biggest and oldest winery.
Established in 1982, it was founded after a good two years of research by Champagne Technologies of France, identifying four beneficial areas for the establishment of wine grapes in the country.
Jitendra told me that the Ivy Group, which also has hotels and construction in its portfolio, provides a full service to interested farmers, from taking soil samples so that there’s a best fit between plant type and soil salinity, and providing a grafted, vaccinated plant.
Around 18 to 20 varieties are used in India, concentrating on grapes for chardonnay, cabernet, shiraz, merlot and pinot noir, and it now exports its product to 17 countries.
Chateau Indage itself has 200 acres planted on the outskirts of Narayangaon, around 85 km from Pune on the Pune-Nashik Highway, but has access to 2000 acres of farmer vineyards scattered throughout the region.
According to Jitendra, the location of the wine bar right on national highway 50 has been a good strategy by owner Shyamrao Chanugule, so that people can stop on their journey to buy wine.
He says Indians “have less culture for wine” but he is advising them, if they are older than 45, to drink red wine for its digestive and circulatory benefits.
“It’s got less sugar for the older person too. This is what doctors recommend. And I say, only in limitations too.”
I gather, from searching afterwards on the internet, that there’s a good trail of wineries around the Maharashtra region for wine tourists to explore.
I was lucky to be at Chateau Indage with local journalists who wasted no time in regaling me with the story of Tiger Hill.
Apparently it’s the place of one of India’s most historic military victories in its 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan, when an assault platoon captured three strategic bunkers on the Pakistan-occupied peak at an altitude of 16,500 feet.
I love the patriotism of promoting your military victories through your wine label!
