Raise your glasses, wine enthusiasts! It’s time to celebrate the talented women who are shaping the landscape of winemaking in India. In a traditionally male-dominated industry, these women have defied conventions and crafted exceptional wines that have gained recognition both nationally and globally. Today, we’ll talk about the top women winemakers in India, their inspiring journeys, and the remarkable wines they create.
10 Top Women Winemakers In India
- Tamanna Agarwal – Trinchero Family Estates
- Saritha Kumari Mishra – Grover Zampa Vineyards
- Dr. Ashwini Deore – Cerana Mead
- Yoginee Budhkar- Cerana Meads
- Priyanka Gupta – Freelance Winemaker
- Rita Tage – Naara Aaba
- Priyanka Save – Fruzzante
- Rupali Bhatnagar Raghorte – Sula Vineyards
- Vrushali Gorade – KLC Wines
- Ashmita Uday Pol – Sula Vineyards
1. Tamanna Agarwal – Trinchero Family Estates
Tamanna Agarwal discovered her love for winemaking during an internship at Sula Vineyards. After a brief session in Tastings and Marketing, she followed her passion and moved to Nasik to become a winemaker.
Under the guidance of Chief Winemaker Karan Vasani, she quickly advanced to Associate Winemaker, focusing on red and rosé wines. Her experience at Sula, including managing a vintage at an off-site winery, boosted her confidence as a winemaker. She then ventured to California to partake in harvesting at the iconic Opus One winery for six months.
Later, she worked at KRSMA Estate and refined her skills in viticulture and estate management. Currently, she is back at California working as an enologist at Trinchero Family Estates, where she focuses in fermentation technology and more.
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2. Saritha Kumari Mishra – Grover Zampa Vineyards
Saritha Mishra, a native of Banaras and Bangalore, is the fun-loving Winemaker at Grover Zampa Vineyards in Bangalore. She earned a Master’s in Biotechnology from Bangalore University in 2011, where her project on fermentation technology led her to join Grover Zampa.
Starting out, she impressed former winemaker Karishma Grover and learned the art of winemaking from her. Saritha’s passion, skills, and hard work caught the attention of French wine consultant Mr. Mathias Pellissard, and the management at Grover.
With 11 vintages of experience, Saritha also proudly served as an oenologist overseeing a cellar with over 1.5 million liters of wine. She even created a popular mulled wine during the pandemic. Her expertise in using advanced technology and her stellar team allows her to craft exceptional bottles of liquid gold. Now she is one of the head winemakers at Grover Zampa Vineyards.
3. Dr. Ashwini Deore – Cerana Mead
Ashwini Deore, a food engineer, joined forces with her mead-loving friend Yoginee to create Cerana Meads. After Yoginee’s successful homemade mead experiments, they decided to start this meadery together. With her expertise in biologically produced substances and passion for innovation, Ashwini was the perfect partner. She specialized in crafting delicious mead recipes using honey and fruits.
She swapped maple syrup for honey and together they developed unique mead flavors like Jamun Melomel, Pomegranate Melomel, and Chenin Blanc Pyment. Ashwini’s love for cooking and food science helped her perfect the recipes.
Ashwini’s deep knowledge about different factors, like honey bee species and flowering seasons, adds to the uniqueness of their meads.
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4. Yoginee Budhkar – Cerana Meads
Dr. Yoginee Budhkar, an environmentalist fascinated by honeybees and fermentation, discovered that making mead combined all her passions. She delved into the history of mead in India and learned about its significance in ancient social and celebratory drinking.
Through her dedication, she studied varietal honey, mastered mead making at UC Davis, and partnered with Dr. Ashwini Deore, whom we just discussed. Together, they founded Cerana meads. Yoginee’s expertise and enthusiasm drove her to successfully advocate for mead to be recognized as an alcoholic beverage in Maharashtra. This initiative sparked the industry’s growth throughout India.
5. Priyanka Gupta – Freelance Winemaker
Priyanka Gupta, an Oenologist from Buxar, Bihar, owes her success to her supportive mother who defied traditional norms to educate her. Despite facing limited educational opportunities in her hometown, she pursued her passion for wine and completed her post-graduation in wine technology.
She gained valuable experience while interning at Deccan Plateau Winery, where she had the freedom to work independently. Her expertise led her to manage a large winery in Bijapur, handling production for renowned wine brands. She had the privilege of working with accomplished professionals like Dr. Rajesh Rasal and Neil Fernandes, further refining her skills.
Later, in Rajasthan, she became a trailblazer by producing unique Date Wine and Pomegranate Wine, as the state lacked a wine-making policy. Currently, as a freelancer, Priyanka is focused on creating exciting fruit wines and experimenting with unconventional ingredients like areca nut (Suparee) in Sirsi.
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6. Rita Tage – Naara Aaba
Rita Tage, the Wine Queen of North East, has revolutionized winemaking in Arunachal Pradesh. Before Rita’s innovation, kiwis used to go to waste in Ziro Valley, but she turned them into a thriving business at her organic kiwi fruit winery called Naara Aaba.
Her passion for wine and her dedication to quality have made her a true master in the field. She handles everything from purchasing fresh fruits to bottling the wine, ensuring a top-notch product.
Rita’s winemaking journey began in 2017, but her planning started much earlier, with thorough research on the potential impact of winemaking for kiwi growers. Her wines have gained international recognition and have been showcased at prestigious exhibitions.
7. Priyanka Save- Fruzzante
Priyanka Save is the co-owner of Fruzzante, a unique and tasty alcoholic beverage made from chikoo fruit. Priyanka grew up in a small village called Bordi in Maharashtra and studied in her hometown. She later pursued Mechanical Engineering in Pune and completed her Master’s in the USA. Returning to her roots, she decided to become an entrepreneur and focus on winemaking.
Priyanka noticed that a lot of the Chikoo fruit her family grew was going to waste because of marketing and infrastructure problems. She wanted to help the farmers and find a better use for the fruit. After some research and help from a fruit wine expert in Canada, she came up with the idea of making Chikoo wine. It was a challenging project, but she didn’t give up.
Finally, after a lot of hard work, she had her product. She had to go through more hurdles to get it approved as a classified wine, but she didn’t let that stop her. Today, Priyanka’s sparkling fruit alcoholic beverage, Fruzzante, is available in many cities in Maharashtra. Her advice to young winemakers is simple: Follow your dreams and don’t be afraid of failure.
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8. Rupali Bhatnagar Raghorte – Sula Vineyards
Rupali Bhatnagar is another amazing winemaker at Sula Vineyards. She started as a lab technician and worked her way up to become the Associate Vice President and Senior winemaker for sparkling and white wines.
Even though she didn’t have formal training in winemaking, she showed that hard work and determination can lead to success. Throughout her career, she has handled various aspects of winemaking and created a wide range of delicious wines.
Rupali loves experimenting with different techniques, styles, and ingredients to make her wines unique. She has also received recognition as one of the top women in the wine industry in India.
9. Vrushali Gorade – KLC Wines
Vrushali Gorade’s wine journey began at Sula Vineyards as a Harvest intern. She learned about winemaking, tasted different grape varieties, and understood how factors like soil and climate affect flavors. She later worked at Renaissance Winery and returned to Sula as a Lab Chemist.
Over the years, she gained experience in making various wines and handling different grape varieties. She took courses sponsored by Sula and eventually became a Cellar Master. After a break, she also explored wine regions in Germany and California, upgrading her expertise. Then, she participated in harvesting at Napa Valley, California, to learn about New World wine styles.
In 2019, she joined Grover Zampa Vineyards as an Assistant Winemaker, expanding her knowledge and working with different winemakers. She currently works as a winemaker at KLC Wines, where she enjoys experimenting and learning with guidance of their Consultant Winemaker, Ajoy Shaw.
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10. Ashmita Uday Pol – Sula Vineyards
Ashmita Pol’s winemaking adventure began in 2012 at Sula Vineyards. Intrigued by fermentation technology after completing her master’s in Life Sciences, she decided to become a winemaker during a 3-month harvest. Starting as a lab assistant at Vallonne Vineyards, she gained hands-on experience in all aspects of winemaking.
Ashmita then ventured overseas for harvests in New Zealand and California, further expanding her knowledge. Joining Sula Vineyards in 2017, she now works in the Red wine-making team, focusing on barrel processes and aged wines.
She appreciates the culture of equality at Sula, where women are treated with respect. With 10 harvests under her belt, she finds winemaking addictive and ever-changing.
Summing Up
These women winemakers are reshaping the Indian wine industry, challenging stereotypes, and making exceptional wines that compete on the global stage. They’ve found their own way out and are setting some really good examples for our young generation! If you’ve been thinking about having your own winery one day then you have the right people to look at. Cheers!
FAQs
Which Is The Largest Winemaker In India?
Sula Vineyards is the largest winemaker company in India.
What Percentage Of Winemakers Are Female?
Women make up 17.8% of winemakers, while men make up 82.2%.
Which Is The No 1 Selling Wine In India?
KRSMA Sangiovese is among the best-selling wines in India.
Which State Wine Is Best In India?
Maharashtra’s wine is reckoned to be the best in India.
Who Was The First Female Winemaker?
Sarah Morphew Stephen was the first female to become a winemaker in 1970.
Who Drinks Wine The Most?
Portugal drinks wine the most with 52 liters of wine per person and year.
How Many Wine Companies Are There In India?
India has around 60 wineries and about 10 vineyards.
Is 100-Year-Old Wine Drinkable?
The best wines can be preserved for more than 100 years, although the majority of outstanding wines will reach their peak before the age of 50.
