Food

SULA Vineywards – Wine Tasting Session

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Sula Vineyards recently had a special Wine Tasting event along with Kerry Damskey (Director of Winemaking at Sula).  Karan Vasani (Chief Winemaker at Sula) and Gorakh Gaikwad (Kadu India) were also present at the event.  The focus for the evening was to be able to share deeper insight into the newly launched KĀDU Wines during the 1st half.  During the next half, couple of the popular SULA Wines very brought up for tasting.

About Kerry Damskey

Kerry is one of the celebrated Wine Connoisseurs in the world who hails from California, USA.  He has been around in this business for more than 25 years and is popularly known as Indian Jones of World Wines.  Kerry has deep understanding of the wine and distinctively share info regards the taste & flavours.

He holds a BS in fermentation science from UC Davis and runs a consulting company that assists wineries in California, Washington, Bulgaria, China, and India.

KĀDU Wines

Sula has established itself as a pioneer & leader in the Indian wine industry, with milestones across its winemaking, tourism and business ventures.  The company has winery and vineyard located in the Nashik (region of western India, 180 km northeast of Mumbai) and the State of Karnataka.

KĀDU is Sula’s first wholly ‘Made in Karnataka’ wine that launched to public in November.  SULA is partnering with Sanctuary Nature Foundation (SFA), which supports conserving wildlife and the Majestic Tiger.

The production of wine is increasing in Karnataka due to favourable climatic condition for Grape production.  Sula realized the potential and decided to come up with KĀDU Wines (in Kannada means ‘Wild).  KĀDU Wines are completely made in Karnataka and they are the first to come up with the concept, ‘Wine for a cause’.

Winemaker Gorakh Gaikwad has crafted the Kādu Wines by selecting some of the premium Karnataka wine grapes.  There are 4 variants including – Kādu Chenin Blanc, Kādu Sauvignon Blanc, Kādu Shiraz Rosé and Kādu Cabernet Shiraz.

Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting activity requires individuals who can identify the Taste, Aroma, Color and many more aspects.  The person need have heightened senses to share some of minutest details and be able to describe it.  Kerry undoubtedly the perfect person to do the same along with Karan and Gorakh.

Varieties of Wines Tasted

  • KĀDU Wines
    • Chenin Blanc
    • Sauvignon Blanc
    • Shiraz Rose
    • Cabernet Shiraz (Red)
  • SULA Wines
    • Tropicale
    • Riesling
    • Rasa (Red)

Tasting Individual Wines

The process of tasting taking small portion of individual wines and sharing info.

  • Aroma emanating from the Wine when the wine glass is brought closer to drink.  Things like – smell of Vanilla, Oak, Fruitiness, Citrus, which lets us appreciate the wine.
  • Sweetness or Creaminess of the Wine due to presence of various ingredient.
  • The temperature that a wine needs to be served as it make a change in the way the wine tastes and smells.  Lower temperatures emphasize acidity and tannins while muting the aromatics. Higher temperatures will minimize acidity and tannins while increasing the aromatics.
  • Changes in the taste of the wine when they are grown in different regions.  The impact of the water and climatic condition on the grape, in turn the wine.
  • Comparison between the wines from California, Europe with the Indian Wines.

Tasting notes for Kādu wines as described by Kerry is mentioned below.

  • Chenin Blanc – delicious, slightly sweet, floral and fruity
  • Sauvignon Blanc – has delicate aromas and flavours of passion fruit, cut grass and green peppers
  • Shiraz Rose – light, fruity and full of luscious berry flavours
  • Cabernet Shiraz – lush, medium bodied and peppery with subtle oak

Interactive Session

Post the Wine Tasting sessions, I got a chance to have conversation with Kerry, Karan & Gorakh.  During the discussion they answers some of the questions related – Wine tastes in different regions, Need for better Storage, Shelf life, Wine pairing with food, Influence of body temperature on win-taste and many others.

Overall Experience

It was a great evening of Wine Tasting along with Kerry Damsky.  I enjoyed listening to the minute details and appreciate the KĀDU and SULA wines.  It was great to know about the initiative by KĀDU to share some of the earning for a noble cause.  My top pick among the wines were the Shiraz Rose (KĀDU), SULA Riesling & Rasa.  I loved the distinctive aroma, color and taste.  Looking forward to tasting many more new SULA Wines going forward.

References

SULA Vineyards
https://www.sulawines.com/

KĀDU
http://www.kadu.co.in/