Sula Vineyards, India’s largest wine company, is planning a new resort at the recently acquired Chandon winery in Dindori, Nashik, as its wine tourism business crosses ₹100 crore in revenue for the first time — accounting for a fifth of its total turnover.
Monit Ravindra Dhavale, Senior Vice President – Hospitality, confirmed the resort plans at the Dindori site, which Sula acquired from LVMH’s Moët Hennessy after the French luxury group exited India citing underperformance. “Very soon we are going to announce… it is going to take time to build,” he told businessline
The location benefits from proximity to fresh MIDC investments by Reliance Life Sciences and Godrej, and expanding air connectivity to Nashik — with routes now operating to Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Goa, and Indore, and a Kolkata service starting June.
Sula is also moving quickly on its newly acquired former Chandon tasting facility. A bottle shop, gift shop, and tasting room are expected to open within weeks of statutory handover, with a resort to follow in the medium term.
On wine tourism, Dhavale said 40 per cent of visitors to the Nashik campus participate in winery tours and tastings, with the site receiving 3-3.5 lakh visitors annually. Day visitor spends have risen approximately 50 per cent in recent years. Weekend entry is priced at ₹1,000, with footfall touching 5,000 visitors on peak days. “We crossed ₹100 crore revenue in our wine tourism business already this year… which is 20 per cent of our company’s turnover,” he said. Sula estimates its share of India’s wine tourism market at 80-85 per cent, with campuses at Sula, Source, York, and the incoming Chandon site.
The company’s newest property, The Haven, which opened in October 2024, was sold out through most of the October-February high season, largely driven by premium weddings. Sula maintains a non-negotiable wine purchase requirement for weddings across its properties. “If you are not taking wine, we are not talking… why are you doing it in Sula?” Dhavale said.
On consumer trends, Dhavale noted rising female participation — “50 per cent of our consumers are women” in the tasting room — and a generational shift, with younger consumers increasingly entering through wine rather than beer or spirits. While acknowledging the Gen Z moderation trend, he said wine is better positioned than spirits. “Wine is never looked at as a thing where you get high on it,” he said. The company launched wines in cans targeting the entry-level segment, drawing a deliberate line between accessible and premium tiers. “We are not putting Rasa in a can at this point of time,” Dhavale added.
Underpinning its expansion is a sustainability push that Sula frames as a business imperative rather than a compliance exercise. By FY26, nearly three quarters of its energy requirements are expected to be met through solar power, backed by battery storage and biogas generation from winemaking waste. The company operates a closed-loop water recycling system and converts grape pomace into compost. It has planted over one lakh trees across its Nashik properties in the past decade, including 25,000 last year alone to mark its 25th anniversary, and has set a net zero emissions target for 2050.
Sula currently holds approximately 60-65 per cent of India’s wine market and has maintained its position as category leader since FY09.