Sula Vineyards, Nashik: History, highlights and visitor guide

History and context

The story behind Sula Vineyards

Rajeev Samant founded Sula Vineyards in 1999, naming the company after his mother, Sulabha, and planting vines on family land near Nashik after leaving a corporate career in California. The winery grew to become India's largest and most awarded wine brand, now offering more than thirty wine varieties and exporting to over thirty countries. It also runs two on-site resorts, The Source at Sula and Beyond by Sula, and previously hosted the annual SulaFest wine-and-music festival for thirteen editions before it was discontinued after the pandemic.

Useful facts

Sula Vineyards facts at a glance

Location

Gangapur-Savargaon Road, western Nashik

Experience type

Vineyard tour, wine tasting, on-site dining and shop

Known for

India's first vineyard tasting room; the country's largest wine brand

Time or schedule

Roughly 11 am-11 pm; tours run within daytime hours, book ahead on weekends

Why it matters

Why Sula Vineyards is worth your time

Sula is widely credited with turning the area around Nashik into India's most significant wine region, sometimes described locally as the country's answer to Napa Valley, by proving commercial grape-growing and winemaking could succeed here at scale. Its founding in 1999 predates most of the smaller producers now operating nearby, several of which followed the trail Sula laid down.

Beyond the business story, a visit here gives Nashik a completely different register from its temples and caves: a modern, leisure-focused industry built on agriculture rather than pilgrimage, which broadens what a family trip to this part of Maharashtra can include. For visitors travelling with a mix of ages and interests, it is often the stop that appeals to people who might otherwise sit out the temple visits.

Highlights

What not to miss

1. 01

   The tasting room

   India's first purpose-built vineyard tasting room, overlooking neat rows of vines.

2. 02

   Rasa restaurant

   On-site dining serving Indian and Italian dishes with vineyard views, good for a relaxed lunch after a tour.

3. 03

   The bottle shop

   Buy the wines you tasted directly at the vineyard to take home.

Plan your visit

How to experience it

Sula was founded in 1999 by Rajeev Samant, a Stanford-educated former Oracle employee who returned to his family's land near Nashik and planted the vines that helped establish this region as India's main wine-growing area. The winery's tasting room, built overlooking rows of manicured vines, was the country's first of its kind, and remains the centrepiece of most visits.

A typical visit starts with a walk through the production areas, explaining how the grapes are grown and turned into wine, before moving to a guided tasting of several styles. From there, most visitors head to Rasa, the on-site restaurant serving Indian and Italian dishes, or to the tasting room's own lighter menu, both good options for a relaxed lunch overlooking the vineyard. A bottle shop lets you buy what you liked to take home.

Weekends bring a livelier crowd and slightly longer hours, while weekday visits tend to be calmer and better suited to families or older travellers who want to move at their own pace. Either way, booking a table or tour slot ahead of time avoids delays, particularly in the cooler winter months when Nashik's wine tourism is busiest.

Know before you go

Timing, access and comfort

Area

Gangapur-Savargaon Road, on the western outskirts of Nashik

Time needed

1.5-3 hours for a tour, tasting and meal

Best time

Late morning to early afternoon on a weekday for a calmer visit; weekends run later and busier

Walking level

Easy

Senior comfort

The tasting room and main restaurant areas are level and comfortable, with plenty of seating, and the guided tour covers manageable ground at an unhurried pace. Wine tastings are optional; non-drinkers and older visitors can enjoy the setting, the tour and the food without needing to sample every pour.

Tickets and access

Tours and tastings are ticketed and best booked ahead, especially on weekends; the tasting room and bottle shop are generally open from around 11 am to 11 pm, with the vineyard tour running within shorter daytime hours. Confirm current prices and timings before you go.

Plan it with

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