With a rise in unwanted social elements, women’s safety has become a national concern these days and thus, Sula Vineyards too, has taken steps towards making the vineyard experience safer for women tourists as well as others. For the first time since its inception Sula Vineyards in July 2018 started mandating an entry fee for guests visiting the vineyard at Govardhan, Nashik to which the tourists have given a very positive response. This measure has helped in filtering out the crowd and keeping a section of the miscreants away. 

Due Sula’s increasing popularity, the vineyard attracts a huge crowd of about 6000-7000 visitors every week. People from all over the country and abroad are visiting Nashik to experience the wine-making process at Sula, thus contributing to the wine revolution that Sula has commenced. However, with a huge crowd in the premise, the probabilities of malefactors entering the vineyard had also increased. Many of these people are not interested in anything except harassing tourists, thus maligning Sula as well as Nashik. To filter out these mischievous elements, many steps have been taken by the vineyard like imposing a redeemable entry fee of Rs 100. 

These steps have been taken with an aim to make lakhs of visitors that flock to the winery more comfortable. 

“Going ahead with our people-friendly practices and quickly responding to a few grievances about unwanted elements we have decided to filter out the crowd. We are concentrating on quality of tourists and thus, we have started collecting an entry fee of Rs 100 from visitors against which we issue redeemable vouchers. The idea is not to earn off the entry but to filter the crowd making the experience of the tourists more ideal. Sula was always a safe place for women travellers and this measure will make their experience safer,” says Vice President – Hospitality, Sula Vineyards, Monit Dhavale. 

On the occasion of World Tourism Day this month, we also spoke to some of the visitors who gave a very positive response to these newly deployed added safety measures. Restaurateur and a regular at the vineyard Shahrukh Patel says, “It is a very good initiative by Sula to ensure safety and comfort of guests. Many a times women and even couples are beleaguered by some miscreants who come to the vineyard with no intention to learn anything about wines or enjoy the ambience but only to ‘have some fun’.”

Suman Dutta, who runs an educational institute in Nashik and likes to visit Sula often, said, “There are a few people who come to the vineyard just to ogle over others. It is great that this entry fee will push out that crowd entirely making the experience more safe and friendly for women travellers.” 

About Sula Vineyards

Sula Vineyards is the market leader and consumer favorite in Indian wine. Their award-winning wines are available nationwide at the finest hotels and restaurants, and are also exported to 25 countries. 

Sula is a pioneer in India’s wine tourism opening the country’s first winery Tasting Room in 2005, the first vineyard resort – Beyond by Sula, in 2010 and India’s first heritage winery resort The Source at Sula in 2017. With over 350,000 visitors last year, Sula is one of the most visited wineries in the world and the #1 spot where Indians first taste wine. Sula won the prestigious Drinks Business Award 2016 for the ‘Best Contribution to Wine and Spirits Tourism’, the first time an Indian company won a Drinks Business Award. In July 2018 Sula also became the first wine company in India to cross the 1-million case sales mark. 

Firmly committed to remaining at the forefront of Indian wine, Sula continues to experiment with new grape varieties, engage in sustainable agriculture and support the local rural economy. Sula is one of the world’s most sustainable wine producers with more than half its energy coming from solar. In November 2017, Sula launched their first premium wine from their Karnataka vineyards. Kādu, (pronounced Kaa-du) is Sula’s first wine for a cause, benefiting tiger conservation in India.

In addition, the company is also a leading wine and spirits importer, with Sula Selections, a portfolio of prestigious brands like Remy Cointreau, Beluga vodka, Hardys, Trapiche, Cono Sur, and Asahi beer. 

Sulafest has become one of the world’s biggest vineyard music festivals and will celebrate its 12th edition in February 2019.