Viognier “Dindori Reserve” 2022 – Sula Vineyards

The grapes to produce Viognier “Dindori Reserve” Sula Vineyards were manually harvested after careful selection in the vineyard. The whole clusters were gently pressed and the juice was chilled to approximately 6°C. The juice was clarified and inoculated to allow a slow, cool fermentation. Fermentation was carried out in stainless steel tanks to preserve the purity of fruit and lasted between 25 to 30 days. Viognier “Dindori Reserve” Sula Vineyards settled for a further 45 days, after which the tank lots were blended, fined, stabilised and filtered.

The Viognier grapes come from the hillside vineyard in Dindori with gentle slopes and free-draining gravel red soils rich in iron and calcium; with heavier, clay soils of red laterite and basalt rock higher up the hillside. The unique microclimate at this site is due to the presence of a huge lake which encourages a uniform ripening. Green harvesting took place to allow a handful of grape bunches to remain and reach optimum maturity with concentrated flavours. The vines are trained high on an Open U or Lyre trellis system.

Sula Vineyards is situated in Nashik, India’s largest grape-growing region. The winery was set up in 1997 by Rajeev Samant & Kerry Damsky. They pioneered the growing of the French grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, which were first released in 2000 to wide acclaim as India’s best white wines. Sula Vineyards now cultivates Shiraz and Zinfandel amongst other international varieties and is broadly recognised as India’s premium wine producer.