Company Introduction

Sula Vineyards is by Rajeev Samant, a former employee of Oracle. In 1993,

Samant set out on an entrepreneurial venture by using his father’s 20-acre land in Nashik to
grow mangoes. The venture was met with failure. His subsequent cultivation of teak wood
also met a similar fate.

Samant started wine production when he found an uncanny resemblance between Dindori
hills’ landscapes of Nashik in India and those at Napa Valley in California. His research
made him realize that these hills could be used to cultivate wine-producing grapes while
everyone else is following traditional table grape production

In 1999, Samant established Sula Vineyards in Nashik. Samant partnered with Kerry
Damskey, a renowned winemaker from California with a goal of producing wines that would
match international standards. Sula planted its first wine grapes in 1995 and the first bottle of
wine was sold in 2000.

The aim of Sula has always been to target the growing number of wine-consumers in India
and to promote its own premium wine.

As Sula’s name grew popular, sales picked up and the company grew.

Sula’s Great Comeback was accompanied by the change in perception and eco-friendly
initiatives. Change in prices were also initiated as a result this in 2008-2010. Over the years,
Sula has grown to become India’s leading wine producer.

With its presence known in 32 states across India, the company is presently the biggest wine
producer in India occupying over 65 percent of the market share. Sula wines are also exports
to 20 countries across the globe including Japan, USA, and UK.

Through Sula, Samant pioneered the culture of wine tourism in India. He used wine-tasting
events and entertainment events as promotion tools for tourism. He brought people closer to
wine by having wine tours at his winery along with experimental tasting of wines.

The wine tours were open to all the visitors, including a peek into the vineyards, wine-
making process, wine tastings, courses and special events. This made people leave their
inhibitions about wine and gave them connect with wine. Sula encouraged wine as a
sophisticated drink. He also advocated for the health benefits of red wine and commented on
how viticulture was increasing the jobs in and around Nashik.

About the industry

Global Wine Industry and Trends

Europe is the prominent producer as well as of the world’s wine and the three countries of
Italy, France, and Spain accounted for nearly half (49.5 percent) of the 260 million hectolitres
produced in 2018. Global consumption in 2015 was estimated to be 240 million hectolitres
(mhl). The leading wine consuming countries are US, France, Italy, Germany, China, UK,
Argentina, Spain, Russia, Australia.

These facts prove that India is neither the top producer nor the top consumer of wine because
initially people believed that the Indian cuisine and wine were not a combination. Wine is
made in almost every country of the world and is categorized as either Old World or New
World, classified on the basis of their origin.

Wines from the old world are from places studied as the origin or source of wine and have an
elongated history of wine production. They are absolutely European, such as the recognized
and high-producing areas of Germany, Italy, Spain and France and also include Georgia,
Austria, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, Switzerland, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary.

New World wines originate from countries that were previously colonies and are generally in
warmer temperatures, including Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, and Argentina. As
a result, such wines are frequently fuller-bodied and have bolder flavours.

Indian Wine Industry

India is one of the largest alcoholic beverage markets in the world. In India, wine is produced
mainly in Maharashtra and Karnataka owing to the optimum climate for wine grape
cultivation in these states.

Other popular wine grape growing areas in India include the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh. Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Rosé, Chardonnay, Sparkling
Brut and Rose, Shiraz, Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Riesling are the
most common variety of wine grapes cultivated in India.
Maharashtra is the hub of wine production in India. Over two-thirds of the Indian wine
estates are located in Maharashtra. Nashik district of Maharashtra is known as the Napa
Valley of India owing to the large wine grape vineyards located in this belt. There are over 50
vineyards in and around Nashik with 40,000 hectares of grape cultivation out of which only 2
percent is used to make wines. The first international standard winery was set up in the 1980s
in Narayangaon near Pune, Maharashtra.

In Maharashtra, Nashik, Sangli, Pune, Solapur, and Osmanabad are the major wine regions.
Out of the 75 wineries set up in Maharashtra, 50 including 35 in Nashik are not operating due
to financial woes, the reason for which includes low sales of their wine brands.

The industry is slowly becoming oligarchic in which only a handful of companies like Sula,
Zampa Grover, Fratelli, etc. will survive and occupy the majority of the market. Nashik has
perfect conditions for viticulture that focuses on grapes for the purpose of wine-making. Sula
Vineyards are one of the major producers of wine. Nashik is considered India’s primary
wine-growing region. Tropical climate, hot summers, and cool, dry winters, are ideal for
growing grapes.

The market is primarily characterized by the production and distribution of Indian Made
Foreign Liquor (IMFL), Country Liquor, Wine and Beer. According to World Health
Organization, the Indian hard liquor market has 93 percent whiskey or vodka drinkers with
only 7 percent of beer drinkers.

India’s wine drinking population is very low with only 1 percent. The per capita consumption
of wine in India amounts to only 0.07 litres per year as compared to 60-70 litres per year in
France, Italy, and Germany. The consumption of wine in India is low compared to that of
hard liquor beverages like whiskey, vodka, beer and rum. According to Associated Chambers
of Commerce and Industry of India, the wine market is the fastest growing alcoholic
beverage market in India at the rate of 30 percent annually.

Management of the Company

The management and Board of Directors of Sula Vineyards are committed to strong
corporate governance and sound business practices. Sula’s team is committed to upholding
the highest ethical standards and fostering a work environment free of harassment and
discrimination.
Rajeev Samant

Founder & CEO

Rajeev Samant will go down in the annals of wine lore as the man who founded India’s main
wine region in 1999. Born and schooled in Mumbai, Rajeev headed to California's Stanford
University for an undergraduate degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Engineering
Management. He then worked for Oracle Corp. in Silicon Valley before heading back to
India in 1993, determined to bring the Californian spirit of innovation to his homeland.

Kerry Damskey

Director And Master Winemaker

Currently the Master Winemaker for Sula Vineyards, Kerry Damskey played an integral role
in the founding of the company and supported Rajeev Samant's decision to first grow wine
grape farms on Nashik soil. Kerry has worked for wineries all over California and across the
world to hone his wine knowledge, eventually establishing himself as one of California's best
winemakers.

Karan Vasani

Chief Winemaker & Winery Operations

Karan started his career as an Assistant Winemaker in Oct 2013. Arming himself with a
Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology from Lincoln University, New Zealand,
Karan travelled across the globe from one terrain to another to learn more about the wine
world.

Karan is in charge of the Maharashtra operations at Sula Vineyards, looking after the
wineries here. Leading the winemaking team at the vineyards, he supervises all the
winemaking processes right from grape harvesting through bottling.

Services

 Wine Tourism
On regular days, Sula holds around 50-200 wine tours and tastings sessions. During long
weekends, more than 1000 tours and tastings sessions take place. The tourists come
mostly from metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, and Bangalore.

Around 5-10 percent of Sula’s total visitors are from different countries including Japan
and the USA. The footfall of Sula in the previous year (financial year 2019-20) was
around 3.5 lakhs, with the maximum tourists coming in between October to December
until the Sula Fest.

Sometimes during long weekends, Sula entertains around 6000 visitors a day. As Sula
gets around 3.5 Lakh people a year, Sula Vineyards has the highest footfall throughout
the world. Though regions like Berdov, Bavandi, and Napa have a greater number of
tourists, the maximum footfall is experienced by Sula.

Sula even got awarded the Drinks Business Award for promoting wine tourism in India.
gleaming with pride. It believes that Sula is not completely responsible for the tourism in
Nashik since people also come for visiting Trimbakeshwar or Panchavati or Phalke
Smarak for pilgrimages and tourism. Nikam believes that tourism in Nashik is not Sula-
centric.

The major contribution is made by the tour and tasting session. Another aspect of this was
wine and food pairing, wherein proper cuisines that could be paired up with that specific
type of wine was researched on. Sula also introduced sparkling wine and kanda bhajiya
which got a very good response for public relations (PR).

 Events and weddings

Moving beyond palaces, beaches, and mountains Sula vineyard offers an off-beat luxury
destination wedding at a vineyard. Place have beautiful amphitheatre with hills at one side
and vineyards on the other framing an unbeatable sunset coupled with some free-flowing
best wines.

Sula’s teams have tremendous experience when it comes to events ensuring that is perfect
day remains flawless. Celebrate any special occasion or event at unique setting. With the
biggest space, the brightest sun, lavish vineyard resorts, and the best wines in India, make
the occasion a memorable affair.
 Domaine Sula

Sula Vineyards rebranded its Karnataka winery to Domaine Sula. Karnataka is the
second-largest grape-producing region with emerging wine culture. Domaine Sula, a
vineyard near Bangalore encapsulates all things wine beautifully and depicts the rich
heritage of Indian sustainable winemaking. Located on the Bengaluru - Mysore highway,
Domaine Sula is a perfect picnic spot for those exploring wine tourism with attractions
like wine tasting sessions, winery tours, gourmet dining options, and lots of delicious
wines.

 Wine Courses

Sula offers wine courses to F&B professional and wine enthusiast. Its amazing educator
Sovna Puri will take students to an amazing world which is the world of wine.

During one fun day, students will get to discover all the basics about our favourite drink,
the perfect pairings and they will also get to taste, analyse and understand 8 different
wines.
WSET provides globally recognized education and qualification in wines; at the end of
this interactive day of learning, students will get to take the exam, and get this much
sought after certification.
As an approved program provider, Sula brings this wonderful WSET wine course; that
too, at the most affordable rate in the world.

Presence of Sula Wines in Market

India and Internationally

Stores of Sula wines in India are located at all the major cities. The list is as follows.

Chandigarh, Gurugram, Delhi, Noida, Agra, Lucknow, Jaipur, Indoor, Kolkata, Nashik,
Nagpur, Thane, Pune, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Goa, Bangalore, Chennai,
Kochi.
 Sula Vineyards also became a leader in sustainable winemaking and created direct and
indirect employment opportunities for thousands of rural youths. It employs at least one
member of every family in the villages surrounding his vineyards.

By 2015, Sula boasted of 1800 dedicated acres of grape cultivation and current wine
production of 60,000 cases/year, making the company biggest wine producer with 65 per
cent market share.

Sula also built the largest wine footprint in India with a presence in 32 states in India with
export to 20 countries across the globe. Sula had a wide national distribution network of
70 distributors within India. Since its inception, Sula rapidly saw the consumption grow
at 25 per cent annually. The major focus of Sula was on domestic operations with 93 per
cent of sales in India, and only 7 per cent is exports. The retail institutional mix had also
changed over the last 10 years.

Sula exports many of its wines to over 30 countries and includes countries like Singapore,
Australia, Italy, France to name a few.

Sula wines gained the status of India’s premium wines.

It developed a portfolio of 23 different wines with two to three new introductions every
year. Sula produces sparkling wine as well. Sula Vineyards also built up an import arm
known as Sula Selections, which imported wines and spirits representing iconic brands
such as Remy Cointreau, William Grant & Sons, Hardys and Cono Sur into India.

The aim was to cater to complete market with both national and international offerings.
Sula also imported and distributed wines from leading producers worldwide. Their wines
came from New World regions such as Australia, South Africa, Argentina and New
Zealand as well as Old World regions such as France, Portugal and Italy.

Competitors of Sula Vineyard

Indage Wines
Indage also known as Chateau Indage, based in Narayangaon – on the Pune-Nashik Road, are
one of the pioneers of authentic wine in India. They are India’s largest wine brand both by
volume and valuation. The Company now known as Indage Vintners was set up in 1982 as a
100% export-oriented unit and called Champagne Vineyards and later as Champagne India. 

Grover Vineyards
Three generations of the Grover family grew this Bangalore-based winery, Grover Vineyards
since the year 1989 upto the premier wine brand it is today.

In 2001 Grover Vineyards accomplished an extraordinary feat that was once next to
impossible, it started selling wine to France. Grover’s Vineyards are situated 40 kilometres
towards north of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka called Nandi Hills

ND Wines
ND Wines, situated in the suburbs of Nashik, is the fourth-largest winery in India. However,
the winery sells majority of its produce to Sula Wines and only a small portion of the wines
are sold under its own label. After enjoying huge success exporting table grapes to various
countries all over the world, N D Grapes ventured into the wine industry with N.D Wines. 

Vintage Wines
Vintage Wines again near Nashik though small produces some the best wine in India today.
Launched in April 2006, the Company has set-up a 32,000 sq. ft. state of the art winery at
Niphad, Nashik, with an annual capacity of 2 lac litres, which could be scaled to 1 Mn.
bottles. Vintage Wines have a total area of 200 acres of which 100 acres are dedicated for
wine variety grapes.

Job Roles in Sula for MBA marketing Graduate

 Executive – Purchase
 Executive - Vineyard Operations
 Sales Manager

Description of roles and expectations

 Build good Working relationship with dealers

 Understand the core values of the company and its goals
 Research the market and related products for possible business opportunities.
 PAN India competitive Market Research and Data analysis in Wine industry.
 Present the product favourably and in a structured professional manner
Maintain and Develop relationships with channel partners in person.
  Advise on forth coming product developments
 Develop Sula wines as a brand by ensuring Service standards in line with company
polices

Selection Process

 Cumulative list of batches (CVs and Count on Mail).

 Personnel Interview with the Management
 Psychometric Analysis
 Letter of Intent

Famous Brands by Sula Wines

Rasa
 Rasa Cabernet Sauvignon - This red wine is aged in French oak barrels for
over a year and then matured in the bottle before release. It contains an ABV
of 14%.
 Rasa Zinfandel - This rough red wine matures for around 3–4 months in
American Oak barrels and contains an ABV of 14%.

Dindori
Sula’s Dindori Reserve highlights the winemakers and their endeavours, using
their winemaking skills and tools.
The Source
 The Source Grenache Rosé - This rosé wine contains an ABV of 12.5%.
 The Source Sauvignon Blanc Reserve - This medium-bodied dry white wine
is partly aged in French Oak barrels and contains an ABV of 12.5%.

Sula Classics
Sula’s wine offering includes over 30 variants

 Sula Brut - matured for 2–4 months. It contains an ABV of 12%.

 Sula Sparkling Shiraz - Sula Sparkling Shiraz is India’s first and only
sparkling shiraz wine. Matured for 4–5 months in oak barrels, this wine
contains an ABV of 13.5%.

Dia Wine Sparkler

India’s first wine in a can - Dia wine sparkler was launched in 2019. The wine
is currently available in Goa and Maharashtra.
Kadu
The first Indian wine for a cause: Sula has partnered with Sanctuary Nature
Foundation; a non-profit organization designed to empower and support
grassroot conservationists across India.