Chennai/Nashik, Mar 4 (IANS): Listed wine-maker Sula Vineyards Ltd plans to open tasting rooms across the country, besides opening its fourth and fifth wine-tasting rooms next fiscal.

The company is also hoping for a record grape harvest this year.

According to the company, it will open its fourth tasting room on the Mumbai-Agra highway close to the Nashik Airport and HAL Ozar, thus catering to the fast-growing demand from the regions north and east of Nashik.

“This marks a significant step for Sula - our first tasting room outside our own winery premises - the start of a new chapter where we envision more Sula tasting rooms opening across the country. Plans are already in the works to open a fifth tasting room in the second half of FY25,” said Rajeev Samanth, CEO, Sula Vineyards Ltd.

The 2024 grape harvest is shaping up to be excellent in quantity as well as quality for a fourth consecutive year, with the wine grape harvest setting a new record of over 10,500 tonnes.

"The harvest is excellent, with red grapes comprising about 65 per cent of total wine grapes. This signifies a notable shift from five years ago, when red grapes constituted 55 per cent of the total, reflecting India's increasing preference for red wines. Syrah and Chenin Blanc are the two top varieties in this harvest,” said Karan Vasani, COO, Sula Vineyards Ltd.