National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

I

t’s Friday afternoon and the tasting

room at Sula Vineyards is packed

with couples, families, and groups

of friends. A bus has just pulled

up disgorging a gaggle of laughing

schoolboys and girls on a field trip at

the winery. Every weekend, Mumbaiites

and Punekars throng Sula Vineyards,

whether they are wine drinkers or not.

And therein lies its charm.

While the winery’s luxury hotel,

Beyond by Sula, is a great option, it

is a 20-minute drive away from the

winery and vineyards (along a bumpy

kachha road to boot). This makes

the recently opened The Source at

Sula an attractive place to stay for a

wine-fuelled weekend or more.

Built adjoining the first of Sula’s

vineyards, The Source is a charming

23-room boutique retreat. Its sunny

yellow facade and terracotta roof

channel the Tuscan look; the arched

windows and louvered shutters add to

the ambience. It’s almost lunchtime

when I arrive from Mumbai. A glass

of sparkling wine keeps me company

while the check-in formalities are

completed. I have one of the Vineyard

View Suites named Champagne (all

rooms are named after grape-growing

regions). The suite is done up in shades

of grey with seemingly vintage and

distressed furnishings in the living

room and the bedroom. I step out on

one of the two balconies of my suite

for a view of the sprawling vineyards.

In the distance, I can see Gangapur

Lake glinting in the afternoon sun. I

look wistfully at the neighbouring Tree

Houses, wooden cottages on sturdy iron

trunks, with large bay windows and

balconies overlooking the vineyards. I

had very much wanted to stay in one of

them, but all four of them were sold out

that weekend.

I make my way to the restaurant for

lunch. There’s a choice between Soma

for Indian and Little Italy for Italian

meals. I opt for a Mediterranean pizza

with artichokes at the latter, along

The Source at Sula

stands right next

to the very popular

tasting room at the

edge of Sula's heritage

winery in Nashik. PHOTO COURTESY:

SULA VINEYARDS

MAY 2018 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 77

MAHARASHTRA