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 At the 13th Annual Drinks Business Awards ceremony was held at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in West London on May 4 during London Wine Fair 2016, Rajeev Samant, CEO & Founder, Sula Vineyards accepted the Award on behalf of the company. Sula has made history as the first Indian company to win any Drinks Business Award, according to a communiqué from the company. The recognition is a testament to Sula’s successful efforts in putting India on the world wine map!
Rajeev Samant says, ”Feeling pretty good right now. It's really nice when all the hard work you've put in is recognized in this way by such a prestigious publication! We are one of the most visited vineyards in the world with over 200,000 visitors. I believe we are the #1 spot in the world where people drink their first glass of wine during a visit to the winery. If you look at it with SulaFest, it's something very special in the Wide World of Wine. It's the first time an Indian company has won a Drinks Business award and we are over the moon!!”
Cecilia Oldne, Vice President of Marketing, who has been involved with SulaFest and the various wine tourism initiatives from the beginning, was ecstatic as she simply said, ‘Proud moment for us at Sula and a milestone for the Indian Wine Industry!’
At the International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) in Barcelona last month, where Subhash Arora was a Speaker on Indian Wine tourism in India, he described Sula as the ‘Pioneer of Modern Wine Tourism’. Ithad 230,000 visitors last year! That includes around 18,000 (my estimate) people visiting SulaFest over 2 days in February, 2016. A 20% increase is expected this year, according to Cecilia.
The wine tourism in India was started by Shamrao Chougule of Indage Vintners but the company went bankrupt due to various reasons and ‘The mantle was worn by Sula Vineyards. Rajeev Samant had studied in California and knows the philosophy of openness of wineries and started a Tasting Room in 2005. This was the foundation of wine tourism in India’, as Arora pointed out to the audience. The first vineyard resort, Beyond by Sula was started in 2007.
Wine Enthusiast’s Recognition
Wine Enthusiast, in its May 2016 issue describes Sula Vineyards achieve yet another accolade as it picks their Dindori Reserve Shiraz 2014 as “Editors’ Choice”. An additional 3 wines – the Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Chenin Blanc were selected as “Best Buy”.
The magazine’s expert tasting panel reviewed over 620 wines from across the world, taking into consideration various factors including price, style and region. The Dindori Reserve Shiraz 2014, racked up a record 92 points. The Sula Shiraz 2015 racked up 90 points and was described as “a bouquet of blueberry, brambles and flint”. Sula Sauvignon Blanc 2015 was rated 89 points and described as having “a nose of cut herbs and just-mown grass backed by notes of white peach barely”. Sula Chenin Blanc 2015 with 87 points was said to have “a fresh nose of grapefruit and lemon peel”.
Cecilia Oldne says, “It’s a proud moment for us at Sula. The Wine Enthusiast Magazine is one of the top wine magazines in the world and for us this recognition is yet another testament to the hard work that our viticulture and winemaking teams have invested year after year, always maintaining the highest levels of quality and consistency”.
Sula Dindori Reserve Shiraz has already made it to the annual ‘The Enthusiast 100’ List for the year 2014 announced by Wine Enthusiast, where its 2011 vintage was placed in the 25th position with 93 points-a remarkable feat. This was reported by delWine
Subhash Arora |