Grover Zampa Vineyard
Have you ever played with fruits? Let’s not get too twisted here. I am only talking about stomping on grapes. Where do you ask? Grover Zampa Vineyard.
The Tour
Grover Zampa is a vineyard near Nandi Hills, located at the foothills of the hill fortress. It is one of the oldest vineyards in India. Grover Zampa is around 410 acres wide and offers interesting activities for you to indulge in. The Grover Vineyards tour includes a guided tour that takes you through the entire process of winemaking. The process starts with the crushing of grapes to the bottling of the wine. You even get to enter the barrel rooms where you can taste 5 varieties of Grover wine. So, If you are looking for wine tasting Bangalore, this is it!
Post wine tasting, you can pamper yourself with some good food. Treat yourself to a quaint and scenic view! Don’t forget to do some bird watching. The birds that you might spot here are Asian Paradise Flycatchers, Thrushes, Eagles, Bulbuls and Puff-Throated Babblers.
Grover Zampa Vineyard is popular for making the best quality wine. They were the first Indian wine to acquire an international trophy. Grover Art Series Sauvignon Blanc 2014 seized the Sauvignon Blanc International Trophy at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards held in Hong Kong.
Grover’s Journey
In 1960, Kanwal Grover would travel to France for work quite often. This was when he became acquainted with and captivated by the process of making wine. It was his interest that soon gave birth to today’s one of the oldest winery in India. But, India in the 1960s was not familiar with the concept of winemaking.
This didn’t stop Mr Grover. He put in immense effort to finally establish Grover Vineyard in 1992 by planting eight grape varietals, including Cabernet, Shiraz, Grenache and the lesser-known Clairette and manufacturing the first 5000 bottles in the Bangalore Grover winery. Soon, in 2017, Grover Zampa Vineyard celebrated 25 years of winemaking.
It was with the help of George Vesselle, the mayor of Bouzy and the technical director of Champagne Mumm Vineyard in France, that Kanwal took the first steps towards opening Grover Vineyards in Bengaluru. Obviously, it wasn’t easy to convince George to get on board. Kanwal met him several times and even the revelation of their birthdays being only 10 days apart did not stir an interest.
George, owing to the passion Kanwal held for wine and the process of winemaking finally decided to visit India for a couple of days to assist him in starting off the Vineyard project. From getting the license to finding the land to acquiring one to absorbing all the information and implementing the grape growing in India – it was a long process.
Grover to Grover Zampa Vineyard
Michel Rolland replaced George in 1995. He imparted advice on grape growing and winemaking practices. His presence influenced Grovers to produce a soft, rich, luxurious and unique wine. Under him, India’s first reserve wine Grover Zampa La Réserve was launched in 1998. In 2012, Grover Vineyards merged with Nashik based Vallée de Vin (VDV) to form Grover Zampa Vineyards.
“Less is more helps us to maintain a high level of quality. We keep the quality high by limiting yields to bring out the complex aromas and delicate flavours from the grapes.
Conclusion
Life and its problems can get too tangled up to unravel and you end up feeling stuck! Take a deep breath and enjoy a long smooth ride to Grover Zampa Vineyard. Soak in the sun, sip on wine, make merry. Getting out of your head and stepping into an invigorating world is the answer. Wine is indeed the answer to every problem.