From Rs.3,000.00 to Rs.6,000.00 From Rs.6,000.00 to Rs.8,000.001. York Sparkling Cuvée BrutJust a few months after this baby hit the market, it’s raked up rave reviews. The York Sparkling is made of one hundred per cent Chenin Blanc, a grape variety that the wine house has always worked well with (their still Chenin Blanc makes for a lovely glass as well). The nicest thing about this sparkling wine is that the owners – the Gurnani brothers – have retained a fair bit of fruit while still managing to make a dry sparkling wine. This will be the Brut to beat in the coming year. Cost: Rs 975 in Maharashtra 2. Zampa Soirée Brut RoséWhen it comes to a sparkling wine, there are two main things to look out for – the quality of the effervescence and the overall balance of the wine. This one scores high on both counts. The blush-coloured bubbly is made from the Syrah grape and has a refreshing palate of red cherry and hints of strawberry with a creamy mid-palate.

Cost: Rs 1100 in Maharashtra 3. Charosa Selections Sauvignon BlancThis Nashik-based winery debuted their wines in 2013 and has had everyone floored since. Among the whites, they produce an ace Viognier but it’s their Sauvignon Blanc that hits it out of the park. In fact, the Charosa Selections Sauvignon Blanc has outdone some well-reputed New Zealand and Australian wines in blind tastings. Cost: Rs 750 in Maharashtra 4. Fratelli Sangiovese BiancoPiero Masi, the well-known Tuscan winemaker, is the man largely behind the success of Fratelli’s wines. Their range is extensive but this one is by far the most peculiar. The Sangiovese Bianco is a white wine made from red grapes. As you can imagine, it’s not an awfully easy task. Because you’re left with a crisp and fresh white wine with the vigour and body of a red one and that, if done right, can be a winning combination. An unusual wine by all measures, Fratelli’s Sangiovese Bianco is a wine you either love or hate.

It’s a rarity even by international standards.top spanish wines under 30 Cost: Rs 880 in Delhigood soft red wine 5. Krsma Sangiovese As a wine house – which would probably fit into the ‘boutique winery category’ – Krsma Estates in Hampi makes some of the best wines in the country. box of wine standProducing quality wine in India was a dream for Hyderabad-based owners Uma and Krishna Prasad Chigurupati (along with running a marathon in every continent for which they hold the Guinness World Record) which was realised in 2003. best place in italy for wine tastingAmong the wines they produce, their Sangiovese is particularly impressive with fulsome notes of dark chocolate, warm spices and nuts.best wine with thanksgiving turkey

Available only in Bangalore 6. Charosa Reserve TempranilloTempranillo is likely to be the next big grape on Indian soil and this is probably why: It is most suited to hot climes and the people at Charosa have used this fact to their advantage. best way to buy wine in bulkTheir first vintage of the Reserve Tempranillo was so outstanding that it has inspired other wineries in the region to experiment with it. Cost: Rs 1700 in Maharashtra 7. Zampa Chêne Grande ReserveChêne, meaning oak in French, is the new red blockbuster from the house of Grover-Zampa. It is a blend of Tempranillo and Syrah and aged for 15 months in oak making it more of a New World style exploit – decidedly dominant and unabashedly oaky. Long after the sip, one can still recollect the taste of toasted coffee on the palate. It is a bold wine and, going by the international awards it has won so far, well-liked not just on home turf.

8. Fratelli Sette (2011)Sette is the most premium among the reserve wines from the house of Fratelli. Sette, meaning seven in Italian, alludes to the men behind the winery. Three sets of brothers – the Mohite-Patils, the Sekhris and the Seccis – and the winemaker Piero Masi make for a total of seven. The current vintage 2011 is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon and is elegant and beautifully balanced. Cost: Rs 1800 in Delhi 9. Myra Reserve Shiraz This wine coming out of Nashik is perhaps the friendliest and most unassuming of the wines bearing the ‘Reserve’ label. It is also the most affordable of the lot but given how the word Reserve isn’t quite governed by any formal law yet, it remains open to interpretation. The Myra version shows notes of ripe red fruit with generous amounts of vanilla from the oak, making for an elegant wine that is quite approachable. Cost: Rs 800 in Maharashtra 10. Sula Dindori Reserve Shiraz Dindori by Sula was the first wine to use the name of a region on its label, so in a way it was almost like a single-vineyard wine.

For what it’s worth, it made the region of Dindori famous and other winemakers soon sprouted up around. For years, Sula’s Dindori held fort as everyone’s go-to red wine. This wine shows deep fruit extraction followed by ageing and finishing in expensive oak. It was recently adjudged #25 in the top 100 wines of 2014 by Wine Enthusiast magazine and that is definitely a commendation worth celebrating. Cost: Rs 890 in DelhiMothers day red wine and flower of bunch EMI: Option to pay in 3/6/9/12/18/24 months availableDelivery in 1 working days [within India] The major wine regions of India highlighted. To the north is Kashmir and Punjab. To the south (clockwise from top) is Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. Indian wine is wine made in India. The modern wine market in India is small; annual per capita consumption of wine in the country is a mere 9 milliliters, approximately 1/8000th that of France.[1] Viticulture in India has a long history dating back to the time of the Indus Valley civilization when grapevines were believed to have been introduced from Persia.

Winemaking has existed throughout most of India's history but was particularly encouraged during the time of the Portuguese and British colonization of the subcontinent. The end of the 19th century saw the phylloxera louse take its toll on the Indian wine industry followed by religious and public opinion moving towards the prohibition of alcohol. Following the country's independence from the British Empire, the Constitution of India declared that one of the government's aims was the total prohibition of alcohol.[] Several states went dry[] and the government encouraged vineyards to convert to table grape and raisin production. In the 1980s and 1990s, a revival in the Indian wine industry took place as international influences and the growing middle class increased started increasing demand for the beverage. By the turn of the 21st century, demand was increasing at a rate of 20-30% a year. The city of Nashik in the state of Maharashtra is called the "Wine Capital of India." See also: History of India

A 19th century reproduction of the Rigveda. Viticulture was believed to have been introduced to India by Persian traders sometime in the 4th millennium BC. Historians believe that these early plantings were used mostly for table grapes or grape juice rather than the production of an alcoholic beverage. During the Vedic period of the 2nd and 1st millennia, the Aryan tribes of the region were known for their indulgence in intoxicating drink and it seems probable that wine was a current beverage. The religious text of the Vedas mentions at least one alcoholic drink that may have been wine related -sura which seems to have been a type of rice wine that was fermented with honey. The first known mention of grape-based wines was in the late 4th century BC writings of Chanakya who was the chief minister of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. In his writings, Chanakya condemns the use of alcohol while chronicling the emperor and his court's frequent indulgence of a style of grape wine known as Madhu.

In the centuries that would follow, wine became the privileged drink of the Kshatriya or noble class while the lower caste typically drank alcohol made from wheat, barley and millet. Under the rule of the Muslim Mughal Empire, alcohol was prohibited in accordance to Islamic dietary laws. However, there are written reports about at least one Mughal ruler, Jahangir, who was fond of brandy wine. In the 16th century, Portuguese colonists at Goa introduced port-style wine and the production of fortified wines soon spread to other regions. Under British rule during the Victorian era, viticulture and winemaking was strongly encouraged as a domestic source for the British colonists. Vineyards were planted extensively through the Baramati, Kashmir and Surat regions. In 1883 at the Calcutta International Exhibition, Indian wines were showcased to a favorable reception. The Indian wine industry was reaching a peak by the time the phylloxera epidemic made its way to country and devastated its vineyards.

It was a long road for the Indian wine industry to recover from the devastation at the end of the 19th century. Unfavorable religious and public opinion on alcohol developed and culminated in the 1950s when many of India's states prohibited alcohol. Vineyards were either uprooted or encouraged to convert to table grape and raisin production. Some areas, like Goa, continued to produce wine but the product was normally very sweet and highly alcoholic. The turning point of the modern Indian wine industry occurred in early 1980s with the founding of The Tonia Group in the state of Goa. With the assistance of French winemakers, The Tonia Group began to import Vitis vinifera grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot blanc, Pinot noir and Ugni blanc and started making still and sparkling wines. Other wineries soon followed as the emergence of India's growing middle class fueled the growth and development of the Indian wine industry. See also: Climate of India, Geography of India, and Geology of India

While a large portion of the Indian subcontinent is not ideal for viticulture, the large diversity of climate and geology does cover some areas with suitable terroir for winemaking to thrive. The summer growing season in India tends to be very hot and prone to monsoons. Many of India's wine regions also fall within the tropical climate band. Vineyards are then planted at higher altitudes along slopes and hillsides to benefit from cooler air and some protection from wind. The altitude of India's vineyards typically range from around 660 ft (200 m) in Karnataka, 984 ft (300 m) in Maharashtra, 2,600 ft (800 m) along the slopes of the Sahyadri to 3,300 ft (1000 m) in Kashmir. Summertime temperature can get as hot as 113 °F (45 °C) and wintertime lows can fall to 46 °F (8 °C). During the peak growing season between June and August, rainfall averages 25–60 inches (625-1,500 mm). Vineyards in India range from the more temperate climate of the northwestern state of Punjab down to the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Some of India's larger wine producing areas are located in Maharashtra, Karnataka near Bangalore and Telangana near Hyderabad. Within the Maharashtra region, vineyards are found on the Deccan Plateau and around Baramati, Nashik, Pune, Sangli and Solapur. The high heat and humidity of the far eastern half of the country limits viticultural activity. The heat and humidity of India's wine region dictates many of the viticultural choices that are made in the vineyards. Vines are often trained on bamboo and wire in a pergola to increase canopy cover and to get the grapes off the ground where they would be more prone to fungal diseases. The canopy protects the grapes against sunburn and rows are spaced wide to help with aeration between the vines. Irrigation is essential in many of India's wine regions and since the 1980s, drip irrigation has been widely used. The tropical conditions often promote high yields which requires frequent pruning throughout the year. Harvest normally takes place in February and is usually done by hand.