Climbing Vine

Paul Bailey’s resume is splashed in wine,although he would self-deprecatingly say that he has only plucked grapes at Bordeaux. The 54-year-old flew down from Australia two years ago to set up the winery of Deepak Roy,Valle De Vin,at Nashik Valley,Maharashtra. “I had never set up a winery but I knew that the soil in India presented a lot of potential,” says the 20-year veteran of wine industry,who is now chief winemaker of Valle De Vin. He had earlier been chief winemaker with Jacob’s Creek wine in Australia,and won the 2004 London International Wine and Spirit Show for creating his own varietal of a red wine,the 1998 Gr Shiraz. “It was a vine that I cultivated with my bare hands when I was fooling around a winery in the Barossa Valley of South Australia,” he laughs.

“This year’s harvest looks promising,” says Bailey who will be rolling out a sauvignon blanc,cabernet syrah and rose in August. “The sauvignon blanc is fruity while the cabernet syrah has a lighter,dry red style,” he says. The prices range from Rs 590 to Rs 990 on retail. Having worked all his life in the New World wine industry of Australia,Bailey believes that Indian wines are as good as those anywhere else in the world. “You can grow grapes anywhere. It is a common misunderstanding people have about Indian wines being of low quality. I am trying to change that,” he says. Having been exposed to the preferences of the Indian wine drinker,Bailey ensures that the wines have a distinct Indian character. “We make an effort to keep the wines soft,rounded,approachable for a novice,and specially a touch of fruitiness,” he says sipping on a 2009 cabernet syrah.