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Are you old enough to drink?
Rajeev Samant
Our 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.
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.
Kerry Damskey
director and master winemaker
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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 grapes on Nashik soil.
Kerry has worked for wineries all over Californiaand across the
world to hone his wine knowledge, eventually establishing himself as
one of California's best winemakers.
He consults with the
Sula
team several times during the year to jointly review winemaking
practices and the latest wines from our vineyards. After his first
visit to India, he was convinced that Nashik was a singularly unique
location that would yield distinctive fruit, and create great wines.
Kerry's familiarity with the Indian terrain, coupled with his focus
on constantly improving the quality of our wines, have led to Sula
being consistently known the world over for great wines.
Karan Vasani
Chief Winemaker & Winery Operations
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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 VERDIN
Brand Ambassador
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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.
