Moliere ,The famous French poet had once said ,“Great is the fortune of he who possesses a good bottle, a good book and a good friend.”
I guess then, I am definitely among the blessed and thank you God!
I was introduced to wine long back (when my Father was posted overseas) but have seriously started appreciating the taste and flavors of wine only recently. Turning another leaf in my wine tasting journey, today I shall be reviewing the “Sula Riesling” for my readers.
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| Sula Riesling (source -Sulawines.com) |
Before I venture into the tasting, I am tempted to share a few wine facts first.
WINE DRINKING IN INDIA
With evolving times drinking wine has become acceptable and fashionable in our society and the fairer sex is no exception to the trend but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that wine was a popular drink in India even centuries ago.
In the Rig- Veda we find mention of wine. Grog shops were in existence then. Wine or beer was stored up in leather vats for the use of the public.
Charaka says of wine ,’invigorator of mind and body, antidote to sleeplessness, sorrow and fatigue, producer of hunger, happiness and digestion.’
If taken as medicine, and not for intoxication, it acts as Amrita (ambrosia) it cures the natural flow of internal fluids of the body.”
(Source – Wine in Ancient India, by D.K.Ghose).
HEALTH QUOTIENT OF WINE
The Resveratrol and Polyphenols in wine (red wine has much more than white wine) have been proven to be good for health (of course if taken in moderation, like a glass a day). It has shown to lower the risk of Depression, Dementia,Cancer and Type -2 Diabetes when consumed in moderation like 1 glass a day for women and 1-2 glasses a day for men.
Excessive consumption regularly can lead to Alcohol dependence,Liver Cirrhosis, Increased risk of Depression and weight gain.
MORE WINE FACTS
Wine is an alcoholic drink made by crushing grapes and then fermenting the extract without adding sugars, acids, enzymes or water to it during the process of fermentation.
Excessive consumption regularly can lead to Alcohol dependence,Liver Cirrhosis, Increased risk of Depression and weight gain.
MORE WINE FACTS
Wine is an alcoholic drink made by crushing grapes and then fermenting the extract without adding sugars, acids, enzymes or water to it during the process of fermentation.
The final taste of wine depends on the delicacy of the techniques used by wine makers and needless to say also the variety of the grapes.Wine making involves the process of harvesting the seasoned and matured grapes,since “crushing” sounds a brutal word in context of something as delicate as wine, so I shall instead call it “juicing”, juicing is then followed up by fermentation, clarification, ageing and bottling.
Wines can be broadly categorized in 5 varieties – Red, White, Rose, Sparkling and Orange based on the external appearance, these further have different flavor profiles depending upon the grapes used and methodology of wine making.The Sula Riesling that I shall review is a white wine.
SULA -THE BRAND
Sula Vineyards, was established way back in 1999 by Rajiv Suresh Samant ( the current C.E.O.) on his family farms in Nashik, Maharashtra .It was India’s very first winery and its success paved the way for the putting the Sula Vineyards of Nashik on the map as India’s Wine Capital.
The name “Sula” came from his mother’s name – “Sulabha” – and symbolized the rich, Indian heritage of his wines. Today, Sula is India’s leading wine company and is leading the charge of Indian wine across the wine world. They also conduct wine tasting workshops and annual wine fairs which are big crowd pullers.
We shall soon cover the Sula Wine fest in our later posts but let me now come to the tasting notes of Sula Riesling.
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| The Riesling grapes source 1 |
SULA RIESLING – It is the first Riesling (pronounced Rees-ling) wine of India.A Riesling wine is produced by using the white Riesling grape with high acidity and pronounced fruit flavors best suited for a sparkling white wine. and the wine thus produced can be sweet, semi- sweet or dry(the dry has the highest percentage of alcohol and thus feels a little dry to the taste buds ).
Price – Rs 850/- for 750 ml (and you thought all wine is expensive!)
Presentation – It comes in a hock shaped narrow-necked amber glass bottle with the characteristic indentation at the base and has a metal cap.
TASTING NOTES
Sula’s Riesling is a fruity aromatic wine with hints of green apples, grapefruit, peach & honey. Best enjoyed nicely chilled at 6-8 C.This is important because I noticed a great change in the crisp note and the finish with the temperature variation.
A Riesling is a versatile wine for pairing with food, because of its balance of sugar and acidity. Pairs well with Indian ,Thai and Chinese cuisine.
COLOUR – Very Pale Gold with a hint of green
NOSE – Mostly fruity – I smelled more of green apples,apricots and some aromatic notes too
PALATE – This dry,crisp wine with low acidity,was delightful on the palate
FINISH – Medium lasting finish !
FINISH – Medium lasting finish !
This wine reminds me of lush green valleys and waterfalls. There is a tranquility but a hidden vibrancy too. Riesling is a versatile wine for pairing with food, because of a fine balance of sweetness and acidity and is quite apt to pair with yellow curries, such as kormas, tikka masalas and pasandas.
I rate it a 3.8/5.Recommended and quite good at this price!
That’s all from me ,until next time – SWIRL ,SNIFF ,SIP ,SWALLOW and of course enjoy your wine !
That’s all from me ,until next time – SWIRL ,SNIFF ,SIP ,SWALLOW and of course enjoy your wine !
38 responses to “Wine Tasting – The SULA Riesling 2017”
I have tasted wines from various parts of the world but I am yet to develop a 'taste' for it 😀 I although love sparkling wines 😀
http://www.docdivatraveller.com
Yes Sparkling wines are another favourite !
What else do you need when you have a glass full of good wine!! The flavor of green apple is amazing
I agree – Great is the fortune of he who possesses a good bottle, a good book and a good friend!
I have no taste for wine so never knew so much about it. Your post is quite informative. Great facts and review Preeti 🙂
It has been a love and hate journey and I am enjoying it.Thank you for your lovely words of appreciation !
Heard a lot about this place, should go and try once. Great pictures Preetiji, I'm sure you would have had loads of fun !
There are only certain wines that I really like. I can't get into them all.
I love wine tasting. I went to a festival once with friends and found some private vineyards we really liked. You have a lot of great information here. Thanks for sharing!
I appreciate your informative post. We live in "wine country" in Watkins Glen New York. Although I am not a wine person myself, many in my family enjoy their wine.
Rieslings are such yummy wines! These look like some good ones! I love wine tasting!
Its really cost effective and a must one to be tasted after going through this review.
This sounds so yummy! I'm usually a hit or miss with Riesling so I definitely want to try this one.
I have learnt that it is difficult to generalise with wines.So the same brand may produce a great wine one year and not so great another year depending upon the crop and weather.
Yes, a lot of us do think that wine is an expensive indulgence but I have come across many pocket friendly ones that taste great.
Thank you – I too loved wine tastings!
Wow – lucky you to live in a wine country!
That is so true, some just grow on you with their particular taste and balance of flavors.
I would love to go to a private vineyard too someday!
Why not Atul!Life is short and let us enjoy and explore as much as we can.
Riesling wine is my favorite, it pairs with good curries.
I agree, it goes very well with yellow curries.Have you tried the Sula Riesling ?
I love the review although i’ve not tried Sula Riesling but i’m a great fan of Sula Seco you should try it Preeti
Thank you for the heads up Richa!I will defitely give Sula Seco a try.
I guess it takes time to develop liking for wine. I am not too fond of it but, but wine tasting experience looks appealing.
I have never tried Sula Riesling,after your review will try this too. BTW I am a wine lover too
I'm yet to develop this taste and liking. Despite knowing the benefits of red wine (in moderation), I'm awaiting a day when I'll love it, lol. Sula Riesling sounds a good choice for wine lovers.
I am not quite an alcohol person, but once in a while I do love wine. When I had visited France I had tasted a lot of them n of course they have many health benefits.
Ye,it is an acquired taste and of course there is a wine for all palates.
To be honest, I did not love it as much but at that price it was not bad either.
Surprising , because your extensive travel must have exposed to some of the best wines in the world, but then again it is an acquired taste.
Great to know that you tasted french wine too 🙂
This was definitely an interesting read.
I have negligible knowledge on this topic ao I thoroughly enjoyed reading ur post and learned many things here
Hey Sarah,I am so glad that you loved my post.Thank you for appreciating !
I had Sula Chenin Blanc 2018 last night. The wine should never leave you with a drowsy feeling next morning. Then its for you. Sula does fall in the category of my choices of wines. Lovely post.
Cheers!!
UK
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Thanks and Cheers !
I love this post. Thanks for such a great list of wonderful things. I can’t wait to start reading many of them. Best wine blog