This was our last
monsoon in Mumbai and it was the last weekend before we bid goodbye to our warm
nest of past two years; we planned for a visit to Shirdi which was on wish list
for long. We started quite early in the morning to avoid the traffic and reached
before noon by taking a shortcut about a hundred km before Nasik. On the way
back to Mumbai, I was kind of taken aback when the car took a detour to Nasik
quite unexpectedly, since we didn't need to go via the city. The surprise
turned to suspense when we proceeded beyond the city towards the lush hilly
abode. It was the beautiful 'Beyond Sula' resort that proved to be our final
destination for the day, some 3 kms away from the famous Sula vineyards and
winery. That was a surprise gift for me, my husband revealed with a smile and
twinkle in his eyes; the elaborate green surrounding dreamy at twilight and the
golden lake beyond gleamed in adoration.
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| The Resort |
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| The vineyards |
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| The greenery and the lake |
We were welcomed by
the friendly reception staff with large smile and wonderful sparkling wine. The
quiet dinner at the poolside restaurant accompanied by lovely food and some
fine wine played the facilitator. My husband, a man of very few words said a lot
in his quiet way through the silence of the romantic evening.
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| View from resort |
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| Fellow vacationers |
Next day we took a
tour at the winery in a group led by one of the company staff. He showed and
explained the entire wine producing process which ended with a wine tasting exercise.
The tasting process was an experience in itself, as he explained the proper way
of holding; swirling, sniffing and finally tasting of different varieties of
wine (while sniffing few of the more matured red wines I almost passed out). We
came to know that the 'James Bond' style of holding wine glass is quite incorrect;
glasses should be held at the stem to avoid body contact with the fluid (Mr.
Bond needs serious training on that front).
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| On the way to winery |
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Grapes crushing pad
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Tank Hall for collecting wine
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| Oak barrels for maturing red wine |
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Entrance of Wine tasting floor
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Wine tasting ceremony
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Post touring we had
lunch at a French restaurant within the winery which was again a delightful
affair.
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| Roses from the vineyards |
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| Way back home |
The way back to
Mumbai was simply breath-taking, valleys covered with green vineyards on both
the sides and the equally green hills surrounding it reminded me of the famous
Tuscany region of Italy.
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The valley
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Like a dessert of a
three course meal this last outing while staying in Mumbai will remain as a sweet
memory to be cherished and revisited over time. Mumbai I will miss you my
friend 'Alvidah'.
