iSeeSwirlSniffSip | From Sula Vineyards With Love

“When you’re not taking off on your own to travel solo, you’ve already figured the company you want to travel with. If, however, you are ever looking for someone to tag along with you, do consider me.”

Having created a reputation around ‘have-feet-will-travel’ lends itself to conversations like the one above. Interestingly enough these also translate into a ready reckoner for newer places to go to and of course good company too. That’s how Sula Vineyards, that’s located in Nasik about 180 kilometres from Mumbai city, happened. Just got Sula on your mind? Then a day trip would suffice.
Finally there
At Sula: 
Once within the premises of the sprawling property with vineyards on either side of the approach road you are quickly transported to a different world.

The Vineyards

Makes you never want to leave

That travelling can be a rather edifying experience is something I’ve been acquainted with for a while now. Yet to say that I was going to have my mind blown is certainly an understatement.

Facts picked up in under 5 hours:

The 'fermentator'
Barrels #SoCool
Do check out the Wine Library - If only there were more of these perhaps more people would take to books ;)


Here you learn that:
If this aint the good life then I dont know what is!
You can spend the rest of the day sitting in front of the vineyards sipping wine, enjoying the cool breeze, birds chirping and fluttering about while Mozart and crew are jamming on a player somewhere near you. Now who wouldn’t want that!
Soliel - ze French restaurant 
P.S.: There’s a French restaurant right next door that has a rather delectable spread. Recommend the Parrmentier de poulet fermier, reduction de syrah Dindori, oignons grelots caramelises et olives noires (aka Free range chicken cooked in Sula Dindori Shiraz, potato puree with olive oil and caramelized baby onions). It is as yummilicious as it can get!

Parrmentier de poulet fermier, reduction de syrah Dindori, oignons grelots caramelises et olives noires

Getting there: 
You could drive or you could take public transport (like I did). There are a number of passenger trains that stop at Nasik Road. The time taken to reach there from Mumbai is about 4 hours (factoring in train delays).
Sights from outside the train
Mumbai to Nasik Road: There are a few trains that ply early in the morning – this allows for you to get to Sula just in time for the first batch of wine tour and tasting but more on that in a bit. Back to the trains, the IRCTC website is rather helpful (when it aint being painfully slow). The Gitanjali Express or the Tapovan Express that leave from Mumbai around 6 AM IST are highly recommended. The view outside is gorgeous all along the route during this post monsoon period (i.e. after September) so you won’t be disappointed (if you aren’t battling to keep your eyelids open courtesy the super early morning start).

Nasik Road to Sula Vineyards: Cool breeze sweeps your face at Nasik Road Railway Station and that feels like a great welcome. To get to Sula you’d need to haul an auto rickshaw from right outside. The one who ferried us said he would charge INR 350 (one way). The drive’s a little bumpy and takes about an hour or so. However as you near the Vineyards you begin to realise that the odds of hauling another auto rickshaw later in the day might just be a challenge. That was exactly my predicament. Our driver refused to return back to merely pick us for the station but offered to stay back until the evening for an extra charge. After some deliberation (mostly around saving ourselves the trouble of locating another mode of transport that wouldn’t cause us to miss our evening train) we agree to an amount of INR 1100.


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