Himanshi
From a mere few brands, the wine market has grown to nearly a dozen, which consists of some of the best Indian wines that are aged in India itself. Wine has evolved to become a luxury – one can stay at vineyard resorts or have wine-tasting sessions at the different vineyards located in India. If you are just interested in getting a couple of good wines for your house party, we will bring you a list of the best Indian wines.
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Best Indian Wines
Sula Vineyard’s Rasa Zinfandel
It is one of the many wines that people can uniquely remember having tasted at Sula Vineyards. This wine is quite heavy in taste, and it even has a multi-sensory kind of taste. Flavour notes of fruits and spices are revealed successively with every gulp that you are going to be having.
The Zinfandel grape, one of the preferred grapes in the United States, despite the uncertain place of origin of the grape, is well-known for creating rich and intensely fruity wines, and Sula Vineyard’s Rasa Zinfandel is no exception. Its rich, almost saturated ruby-garnet hue and slightly moustachioed structure lead to plum and berry-like fruit flavours that are heightened by the spiciness.
Sommelier Gagan Sharma termed it a beautiful, age-worthy, well-fruited, well-oaked, chunky red wine. Rasa Zinfandel is produced by ‘strict sustainable practices‘ such as the use of solar power and de-minimized water intake.
Fratelli Vineyards’s Sette by Masi Piero
Sette is part of Fratelli vineyards in Maharashtra and part of the legacy of the late Tuscan winemaker Masi Piero. This Cabernet Sauvignon-Sangiovese mix, matured in French oak barrels, turned out to be the Fratelli vineyard’s premium red. Echoing the above, Sonal Holland says of Sette it is ‘one of the best wines to have come out of India‘ and that it is a ‘sophisticated, vibrant red wine‘.
The wine is medium-bodied and has flavours of ripe cherry, violets, blackcurrants, cocoa, and vanilla. Thus, Super Tuscans are a class of superior quality wines produced by innovative winemakers in the Tuscan wine region of Italy, in the central part of the country. The name Sette, the Italian word for seven, is a carryover from the restaurant’s original number of outlets.
Fratelli’s J’Noon Red U.V.
The wines are full-bodied reds by Fratelli – a blend by Fratelli Vineyards and an international winemaker, Frenchman Jean-Charles Boisset of the Boisset Collection. In total, it has 28 wine-making companies situated in France, Canada and the USA. As it has been established by the customers, Vivino J’Noon is the number one red wine in India.
The name ‘J’Noon’ is actually an amended version of the Urdu word for ‘passion‘ and echoes the passion that goes into every bottle of this much-loved wine. Kapil Sekhri of Fratelli Wines and Boisset used four grapes for their creation: these are Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot and Marselan. This has given birth to J’Noon, a wine they refer to as ‘subtle and intense – just like India‘.
J’Noon has a plum/chocolate and a hint of oakiness. The tannins that these red wines contain and are so crucial in any red wine are mild, while the flavours are rich. According to the bottled wine specialists of the firm, Vivino, it is best consumed with meats or spicy dishes.
Fratelli Wines’ Sangiovese Bianco
Sangiovese Bianco, the signature wine, combines white Sangiovese grapes. This white wine comes from Sangiovese grapes used for red wine. Winemakers remove the skins from the juice right away to create this white wine. The outcome stands apart and shines, earning the approval of master Sommelier Gagan Sharma. Chablis, an old-world wine, has high acidity.
Unlike its red counterpart, it is a lesser-known white wine variety. The Sangiovese grape offers diverse bouquets and flavour profiles. Fratelli’s Sangiovese Bianco tastes clean with hints of citrus fruits and floral notes. This light-bodied, crisp wine has a refreshing touch that makes it ideal with seafood, salads, and mild cheeses.
Sula Vineyards’ The Source Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
It won’t be an overstatement to refer to Sauvignon Blanc as one of the best white wines. It is described to be a super-dry wine with a hint of citrus rind. This wine is textbook Sauvignon Blanc with that limey character you get from the grape variety, but the really nice stuff comes from the oak ageing.
The judges of the India Wines and Spirits Award, organized by Master of Wine Sonal Holland, wrote in their tasting notes for this wine: “The fruity taste is complemented with gooseberry and pear flavoured with bright citrus”, “The white plums dominate the palate with grapefruit making it a very invigorating experience.” Tasting by the judges at the International Wine Challenge in 2022 described the wine by the words “tomato leaf and bergamot with a hint of coriander aromas — fresh and fruity.”
Sula Vineyards’ Chenin Blanc
For Chenin Blanc, Sula Vineyards and the winemaker Ajoy Shaw had targeted an Indian food-friendly wine. They concentrated on emphasizing the fruitiness and the correct body of this type of white wine in comparison to hot chillies and spices characteristic of local dishes. Sula Vineyards’ Chenin Blanc is placed at the zenith of Indian white wine.
This white wine is often referred to as the ‘easy drinking white wine with hint of honey and light sweet notes of ripe tropical fruits‘. It is believed to be a great summer wine. It is slightly sweet, has moderate acidity, and has a citrus-like nose. It goes perfectly when paired with the choice of spicy starters.
Sula Vineyards Dindori Reserve Viognier
This one is the Dindori Reserve Viognier and is one of its lesser wines that one might not have heard a lot about. The term Dindori relates to the specific region of the village that lies beside the lakes and is the location of the cultivation of grapes of a particular type.
It is of the Viognier type of grapes, a rare grape type originating in the Northern Rhone sub-region of France and used to produce great full-bodied and floral white wines. Consumers refer to Sula’s Dindori Reserve Viognier as a delicious Viognier. Some identify tropical fruit flavours of peach, apricot lychee and mango as a result of wine ageing in Oakushman.
This wine is medium-bodied and has an especially long aftertaste, which is very pleasant to the palate. Like Sula’s Chenin Blanc, their Dindori Reserve Viognier has a hint of sweetness in regards to the taste, so this actually goes perfectly when taken together with spicy Indian dishes or other dishes with high spice content.
Sula Vineyards’ The Source Grenache Rosé
Sula Vineyards is one such vineyard that has never heeded this snobbery and has been making Rosé wines since the year 2001. Among the Source wine range, the Source Grenache Rosé is relatively recent, but this is an upper-end wine. It was introduced in 2018, and as often with this range, sommelier Akshay Gharat characterizes it as a ‘lively rosé’, ‘dry, fresh and fruity.’
What an ideal wine to enjoy while sun tanning! It is a pretty pale coral colour, and it is produced from Grenache grapes, which are used extensively in the production of rosé wines, especially in the south of France and Spain. These grapes suggest flavours of red fruits and cinnamon, which are ideal for warm weather rosés.
York Sparkling Rosé Brut
The zinginess of York’s Sparkling Rosé Brut can be attributed to the very acidic grapes sourced from some of the choicest regions of Nashik, where the York Winery is located. York Winery might have a very traditional ring to its name, but it is in Nashik − the wine capital of India and near Sula Vineyards.
Lilo Gurnani, a director of the company, decided to prefix it with the letters YRFC, corresponding to the initials of his children Yogita, Ravi and Kailash – hence the name York. Rosé wines are relatively lighter and crisper than red wines and thus are famous for being taken in hot weather. As a result of the acidic impression of Pritchard’s strong flavour’s vivacity, it is suitable for hiding or alleviating the sensation of thirst.
For instance, in the case of York Sparkling Rosé Brut, it has been found that the ageing process implants the extra dimension of flavour. The bottles are brewed on yeast for eleven to fourteen months and undergo another three months on corkage. This enables a spectrum of sensations to progress from red fruit to under-notations of cookies, cream, and honey.
Grover Zampa’s La Reserve Royale Brut
It’s clear that alcoholic wines and Champagne taste better when enjoyed, not just during celebrations. They can boost your everyday happiness. La Reserve Royale Brut is one of Grover Zampa’s sparkling Indian wines and deserves daily drinking. Sommelier Gagan Sharma suggests this wine. These bubbly wines come from the Champagne method, not the Prosecco way.
Champagne gets its natural bubbles from a second fermentation inside the bottle. Winemakers bottle the base wine with a sugar and yeast mix called liqueur de tirage. They put a temporary cap on the bottle’s neck, and the yeast breaks down the sugar to create carbon dioxide.
Chenin blanc grapes make this wine, giving it sharp, bright hints of pears, lemon peel, and even honey when you taste it. The wines have a medium body with good acidity and a creamy feel in your mouth. This means the wines leave a long, pleasant taste. The fruity-acidic nature of the wine also goes well with seafood, creamy cheeses, or fruit-based desserts.
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