Our People

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.

In 1999, he established Sula Vineyards, Nashik’s first winery. This historic move transformed Nashik into India’s Wine Capital, and today, Sula Vineyards is globally recognized as India’s most important wine producer.

Rajeev had innumerable firsts in India - planting the first Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Zinfandel, revolutionizing wine tourism with the first winery tasting room in 2005, first vineyard resort - Beyond by Sula in 2007, and the country’s first vineyard music festival - Sulafest, well known to music lovers across the country. His entrepreneurial spirit has been instrumental in creating a thriving local wine industry in India and has brought global recognition, and a fan following, for Indian wine and the Sula brand.

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. While doing so, he spends a lot of time in the vineyards working closely with the viticulture team to ensure that the highest quality grapes are grown so as to ensure that Sula’s wines continue to be of the highest quality.

Immersing himself completely into the wine scene, Karan has completed three levels of the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) program and is also a qualified WSET Educator. He also added another feather to his cap when he was awarded the prestigious ‘Champagne India Scholarship’ in 2014 by the Bureau du Champagne in India.

Grégoire is Sula’s Brand Ambassador and Head of Tastings & Training. Born and raised in Burgundy, France, he studied business law at the prestigious University of La Sorbonne, in Paris then worked in hospitality for many years, including at a VIP concierge company and world-renown restaurants such as Noma in Copenhagen. He has also spent significant time in vineyards throughout France, as a grape-picker and cellar hand, and these experiences have reinforced his deep knowledge and love of wine. Passionate about food and cooking he started his own spice trading company and has traveled the world searching for the finest quality spices, which naturally lead him to India and ultimately Rajeev Samant.He represents Sula at various national and international events and works closely with many teams, including marketing, sales, and winemaking. His personal mission is to make sure that everyone gets a chance to taste Sula's fine collection of domestic and imported wines.