Brush up on your knowledge of wine at an upcoming weekend getaway that promises fun food-wine pairings
Grapes
Wine at a farm watching the sun set, wine paired with traditional food, wine by the lakeside, wine tastings: if you love all things wine, this weekend getaway couldn’t get more indulgent.
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Magic Cellars, a company that curates wine experiences, is organising its first wine trail this month in Nashik. Bonus: you get to travel with someone who can teach you more about wines. “Most people visit a lot of wineries, drink wine and that’s it. We want to take them to smaller boutique wineries and give them a chance to understand the whole wine-making process,” says Gargi Kothari, founder, Magic Cellars. “The focus is wine and really good food.”
The itinerary includes wine-paired meals featuring Indian and Oriental food, walks through vineyards and lots of sampling.
Vallonne
Saturday
The self-drive trail begins at Vallonne Vineyards in Igatpuri, one of the smallest vineyards in India. “It is a stunning place, located on the banks of Mukane Reservoir and surrounded by hills. There, we will meet wine-maker Sanket Gawand, who will take us through his vineyard,” says Kothari. There will be a tasting in their underground tank room, followed by a three-course Oriental meal paired with Vallonne wines at the in-house restaurant, Malaka Spice.
The next stop is York Winery and Tasting Room, where owner and winemaker Kailash Gurnani will host a tasting session. Sip on some of their best wines while watching the sunset and indulging in some tasty Indian and Maharashtrian food at York’s newly-opened Cellar Door Restaurant.
From there, head over to the Gulmohar Home Stay & Retreat, a five-acre farm that doubles up as a bed-and-breakfast.
Vangyacha Bharit at Banganga Udyan
Sunday
Lunch on Sunday will be in the village of Ozar at a private farm, Banganga Udyan. The 50-acre farm was Nashik’s first vineyard, built back in 1925. There, surrounded by rolling plains and a vegetable patch, you can sample a three-course Khandeshi meal paired with wine. “We will be guiding people through the lunch, talking about how the food interacts with the wine, how it affects their palate and how wine can be paired with Indian food,” says Rahul Patil, co- founder, Wandering Foodie, who will be organising the lunch. Patil’s mother will be cooking the food. Expect a mutton dish; a Khandeshi version of dal baati called Varan Batti served with Vangyacha Bharit; and Puran Poli with Katachi Amti (a curry made using the liquid removed after boiling the gram for the puran poli). Dessert will be kheer.
“We want to break the notion that wine can be paired only with Italian and French cuisine. Wines from a region are meant to be consumed with food from that region,” reasons Kothari.
Gulmohar Homestay
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