There was a time in the early 1990s when Rajeev Samant was a recent Stanford graduate and proud holder of a “plum job” at a young, burgeoning Bay Area company called Oracle. Then he left it all to bring Californian grapes to Asia, starting a winery on his family’s land in India:
In 1997, seven years after the thought first struck his mind, Rajeev Samant and Master Winemaker Kerry Damskey planted the French Sauvignon Blanc and the Californian Chenin Blanc at Nashik. The two grape varieties had never before been planted on Indian soil. Three years later when he launched the first Sula wines, they were widely acclaimed as India’s best white wines.
Perhaps just as important as Samant’s success is the way he is doing it. While he has several varieties catered toward a wealthy clientele (“an elite audience”), he also caters to “the broadest audience possible.” This communal outlook has kickstarted a wine revolution of sorts in India (the industry has been growing by 25-30% a year), and it’s safe to say that Samant is largely responsible. Those Stanford grads …
New Wine in New Bottles [The Economic Times, via SFist]
