India also makes wine! (Grover’s Winery visit)

This post is also available in: French

When you think about New World wines, you don’t directly think about India even if the country has been producing this sweet beverage for dozens of years now, notably in the Bangalore area, thanks to a mild climate (altitude being around 1000m above sea level). Ok, we haven’t been very impressed by the quality produced yet, but Grover Vineyards being just a few kilometres from Bangalore and close to Nandi Hills, it was a good opportunity for a Sunday motorcycling trip.
Arrived at the Grover Winery, consisting of a kind of warehouse in the middle of the countryside, we got a guided tour of the vines, the fermentation rooms, and the wine storehouse (with French-made oak casks) along with the “de rigueur” wine tasting.
Contrary to what we’re used to see in Europe, the vines here, are arranged in “pergolas” to allow the air to ciculate better and because there’s no need to retain heat by night. We also found cows (again!) and goats in the middle of the vines and the fermentation rooms and wine storehouse have an AC temperature maintained.
Concerning the wine-tasting, nothing crazy unfortunately. The “less bad” being for us, the rosé and the premium red, “La Réserve” (made under the direction of the famous Michel Rolland).

After a nice biryani lunch on the lawn of the Winery, we continued with a small trek on Nandi Hill One (not to to be confused with Nandi Two, the most famous – yes, nice creativity here to name the different hills), really nice and untouched (specially when you compare with the tourist circus which is happening on the number 2).

In a nutshell, the combo Grover + Nandi Hills is an excellent way to spend your Sunday in the surroundings of Bangalore.