There are anniversaries, and then there are milestones that belong to an entire industry. Sula Vineyards’ 25-year journey falls firmly into the latter category.
I was recently at OKO, The Lalit New Delhi, for Cellar Secrets – An Evening with India’s Finest Wines, marking Sula’s 25-year journey. Hosted by Sula Founder & CEO Rajeev Samant and Delhi Wine Club (DWC) founder Subhash Arora, the unusual fireside-chat format offered a fascinating opportunity to look beyond the bottles and examine how one Indian wine company helped establish an entire category.
The setting helped. Perched on the 28th floor, OKO offered sweeping views of Delhi as the conversation unfolded and the wines were poured, allowing the Sula story to emerge alongside the wines themselves. It was a full house despite Delhi’s rainy days and challenging traffic—something Samant admitted had pleasantly surprised him.
From Vineyard Experiment to Wine Powerhouse
The Sula story is now part of Indian wine folklore. Samant and Arora reflected on the beginning of the journey, when Samant, drawing upon his experiences in California’s Napa Valley, returned to India convinced that his family property in Nashik had just the right microclimate for making good wine.
He brought back rootstocks to plant the first vineyard in 1996, and Sula’s first wines—a Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc—were released in 2000. The company subsequently helped establish Nashik as the centre of India’s modern wine story. The rest, as they say, is history.
There’s a Lot in the Name
For the unversed, the name Sula itself derives from Samant’s mother’s name, Sulabha, reflecting his fond attachment to her. Samant recalled, in lighter vein, that his mother was initially not too pleased with the distortion of her actual nickname, “Sulu”—although it was clearly more indulgent annoyance than genuine displeasure.
A lot of wine has flowed through Sula’s barrels since then. The company has built a portfolio spanning everyday wines, premium labels, sparkling wines and more experimental styles, while simultaneously making wine tourism an integral part of the Indian wine experience.
Today, Sula is India’s largest wine company, commanding more than 60% of the domestic elite and premium grape-wine category.
A Progression from Entry Level to Premium Wines
As Samant and Arora took their seats, guests settled around the adjoining tables, with six wines poured in succession as the conversation progressed. Collectively, they provided an interesting snapshot of the evolution of Sula’s portfolio over the years.
Samant made an important point: Sula is no longer simply about its iconic entry-level labels. Its exclusive labels RĀSĀ and The Source represent the company’s drive towards premiumisation while also drawing upon its heritage. RĀSĀ takes its name from the first two letters of Rajeev Samant’s first and last names, while The Source references Sula’s original winery, subsequently converted into a boutique hotel.
Six of Sula’s Top Wines at the Silver Jubilee Tasting
Sula Brut Tropicale opened the proceedings with its familiar festive personality. Its beautiful salmon-pink colour, lively mousse and tropical and floral aromas led into a fresh, fruity palate with a lingering tropical finish.
Samant highlighted that the wine was the first in India to be made using the same process associated with Prosecco—the Charmat method—for which the Sula team travelled to Italy to learn the technique first-hand. The packaging, too, takes a departure from the conventionally dark-green sparkling-wine bottle: Brut Tropicale’s colourful habillage depicts a joyous meeting of the Indian festivals of Holi and Diwali.
The Source Chenin Blanc Reserve showed how well Chenin Blanc can work in the Indian context when given more serious treatment. Pear, pineapple and citrus sit alongside subtle vanilla and oak-derived richness, giving it considerably more texture and depth than a straightforward fresh white.
The Source Sauvignon Blanc was all about freshness and varietal character- aromatic, crisp and lively, with the green, herbaceous notes expected from Sauvignon Blanc balanced by tropical fruit. It is the sort of wine that demonstrates why Sauvignon Blanc became one of Sula’s foundational varieties.
The Source Grenache Rosé brought a different dimension to the tasting. Made from 100% Grenache, it is a fresh, dry rosé offering delicate white peach, citrus and tropical-fruit notes. Bright acidity lends it energy, while the light body and elegant finish make it a versatile food wine. Significantly, it was also the first wine launched under The Source label, to showcase more premium expressions from Sula’s vineyards. Samant added that this wine was conceived after witnessing a worldwide renaissance of rosé wines with premiumness being increasingly welcomed.
Coming to the reds, The Source Cabernet Sauvignon was, for me, one of the more interesting wines of the evening especially because I tasted it for the first time.
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and partly aged in French oak, it had aromas of dark berries, chocolate and vanilla followed by a dense fruity palate with a bright acidity. What makes it particularly successful is that the oak adds complexity without obscuring the fruit. This wine reminded me of some good ripasso wines that I have tasted earlier.
RĀSĀ Syrah moved the tasting into more serious territory. Rather than the jammy, overtly warm-climate style sometimes associated with Indian Shiraz, this was a more restrained yet powerful expression—dark-fruited, spicy and structured, with the kind of balance that invites food rather than demanding attention on its own. Sula positions the quality of its RĀSĀ wines against imported counterparts in the ₹3,500-plus price bracket.
Sula in the Forseeable Future
One of the most interesting parts of the evening was hearing Sula’s plans for the future straight from the horse’s mouth.
Samant spoke about both the opportunities and challenges ahead- growing interest in dealcoholised and lower-alcohol wines, the continuing importance of premiumisation, and the competitive pressure that could come from cheaper imported wines as India’s network of free-trade agreements expands.
According to Samant, however, such FTAs can also bring advantages for the domestic industry, including lower duties on certain imported equipment. Sula, for instance, is in the process of importing equipment from Australia duty free for the production of dealcoholised wines.
Wine Tourism- The New Frontier
Sula is also betting big on wine tourism, building on its success in the segment since opening the country’s first winery tasting room in Nashik in 2005. This was followed by successive editions of SulaFest, where wine lovers from India and abroad converged for an immersive celebration of wine, music and food.
Also Read: SulaFest 2018: Another Milestone in Conviviality
Samant also pointed out that The Source is not merely a wine label but also the name of Sula’s boutique resort, developed from the heritage structure of its erstwhile winery. Arora added that the Delhi Wine Club had organised two group visits to Sula’s resorts in the past—and good-humouredly urged Samant to consider a special deal for DWC members.
“Sula is the most visited vineyard of the world with 3.5 – 4 lakh visitors per year- roughly 1000 visitors per day on average”
– Rajeev Samant
Sula’s recent acquisition of the former Chandon estate in Dindori is particularly significant for expanding its tourism footprint. The property includes a modern winery, visitor centre, banquet facilities and vineyards. Sula sees it not merely as additional production capacity but as another major wine-tourism destination, with Samant revealing that an architect is already working on the blueprint for the project.
Twenty-five years on, Sula has moved far beyond being simply a winery that helped Indians discover wine. It has helped create wine drinkers, normalise wine tourism, push Indian wine towards premiumisation and perhaps most importantly, give domestic wine a confidence of its own.
