Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Heritage Wine Tour, Chennapatna

After a heavy dose of devotion at Revannasiddeshwara Betta and Ambegalu Krishna, it was time to unwind a bit. And unwind we did, with the constant heady aroma of fermented grapes culminating in a first-ever wine tasting experience. Of course I've had wine at numerous dinner tables before, but it was the first time doing what I would like to call, wine-appreciation. A few kilometers from Chennapatna a left deviation on the Mysore Road adjacent Kadambam Hotel brings you on the doorstep of one-of-the-few-of-its-kind Winery - Heritage Grape Winery. The Wine Tour costing Rs.150 begins with a tour of the Winery where they explain the process of Wine making, right from de-seeding, de-stemming, fermenting, purifying, bottling and racking ends with a wine-tasting.
Your tour guide will also explain the types of wine being produced, the ones available in the market, the process of making it, the kind of grapes used to make these wines and the time it takes to make these wines. The best variety - the French variety - is a separate process in itself taking close to 1 year to produce them, compared to a couple of months for the normal variety. The Winery also has a 4 acre Vineyard where the French varieties of grapes are grown.
After that comes the best part - Wine-tasting. The heritage Winery produces 5-6 varieties of wine. But before you drink the wine there is a short discourse on wine-appreciation. Wine is supposed to be enjoyed by three senses - sight, smell and taste. A glass of wine needs to be first looked at, to assess its texture, color, age and flavor by holding the stem of the glass. You then need to swirl the wine a little and nose it to smell the aroma released by the swirling. Then you draw a sip from the glass and roll it around your tongue to feel the wine. Well it’s a process to say the least, but that is how it is best enjoyed by wine drinkers around the world.

The standard Red Wine, the Shiraz, the Cabernet, the Chenin Blanc and the Sparkle are some of the wines we tasted, much to our delight. This was followed by a video being played charting the history of Wine and its present day consumption and varieties. At the end of it all, it’s a unique experience that can be cherished for a long time.

Getting-there: Bangalore-Mysore Road. After Chennapatna take left at Kadambam Hotel. Follow the red signboards for the next 5 kms.

Must-Do: Learn the art of wine appreciation. Buy wine at MRP.
Must-Don't: Miss it.

My Rating: 6/10

22 comments:

  1. The high and highness of wines had been narrated very nicely. The way to appreciate something always has a process..and even appreciating your writing, pictures all deserves a high end appreciation.

    Nice information, just you brought the a hour or two we spent their infront of my eyes..Keep tasting..oh oh..sorry writing!!!

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  2. Thanks for sharing this. Must visit this place soon.


    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/09/belum-caves-deep-down-under.html

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  3. Thanks Srikanth. And thanks for making the weekend happen :)

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  4. Thanks Niranjan. Yes its a place worth visiting once. But being a Sunday the production was not happening. If you go there Monday to Saturday, you can actually see the assembly line working.

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  5. Been there already

    http://www.ankionthemove.com/2012/01/wine-tourism-bangaloreindia.html

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  6. Ankita, Are you kidding me?
    It was after I saw "your" blog that I went there... LOL

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  7. Hey this sounds cool :) I had earlier visited Grover Vineyards in Doddaballapur near Bangalore. That Winery was also neat but not as huge as Four seasons in Baramati.

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  8. Yes, I heard about the one in Doddbalapur. I heard you could even help them with crushing the grapes by stomping on them occasionally, if you go there as a group. That should be fun.

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  9. That was a lot of fun, huh! Sounds like a good place. I'd been hearing about this, a PR person I know has been putting up links on fb.

    Gosh it's been ages since I went wine tasting. :)

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  10. Here, do they give you all 5/6 wines at the beginning of the tasting session or do they pour it for you one after the other?

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  11. Yes D. That sure was fun. Especially if you are doing it the first time. And yes they pour it one after the other while asking about your opinion of each of the wine you just tasted. Wine tourism is becoming a big thing in India these days.

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  12. I have driven through Chennapatna numerous times, but never knew that there was a vinneyard nearby. Sounds interesting. May be sometime will visit there just to see.

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  13. Sabyasachi, Next time you are on Mysore road watch out for the RED glowing signboards immediately after Chennapatna and right before Kadambam Hotel. You cannot miss it when you are looking-out for them :)

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  14. Bro, guess everyone's into tasting of late :D

    Nice account man.. been told of this place by a buncha guys here n been wanting to go .. I'll probably use ur line here "Wine is supposed to be enjoyed by three senses - sight, smell and taste" to pretend like I know what I'm talking about :)

    Nice one Kishan :)

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  15. You probably heard about Wine-tasting from Anki (who seems to have a gala time tasting beverages), who was coincidently with you whiskey-tasting, coz thats is from where I heard it too.
    I say we keep a close tab on her to get free (more in your case) invites for such events.

    And feel free to use "my" line, which you will anyway find in their brochures :P

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  16. Amazing place to visit.Thanks for spending the time. Genuinely enjoyed the post.

    Douro wine tour

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  17. Anybody has a contact number for this place

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  18. do they have any internships for college tudents interested in wine making

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  19. Thanks for sharing this great content, I really enjoyed the insign you bring to the topic, awesome stuff!

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