This September weekend, something made us want to be rather a bit sophisticated and we headed down to the Big Banyan Wines to have our own wine adventures. Having sipped on a glass of their fine Cabernet Sauvignon not three weeks before that, made us curious, excited, spontaneous even, to see the place these delightful wines were being made.
It was a beautiful day when we decided to go out to the winery, our first time, might I add, to see a winery and the vineyards. We have had our fair share of wines but this would be our first time paying a visit to a place where they make it. The place looked promising.
Big Banyan Wines is located in the outskirts of Bengaluru, past Kengeri and near Ramohalli. It is tucked away from the city, away from the noise and traffic, in the havens of green. The vineyards is rightfully named after the over 400-year-old Big Banyan tree here and situated only a few miles ahead from the big tree. Founded by Italian guy Lucio Matricardi, Big Banyan Wines was actually started in Goa and later around 2019, a branch was established in Bengaluru.
Right as we set foot on the property, we were instantly mesmerized with what the winery had to offer. Lush greens surrounded the winery giving it a dreamy, almost fairy tale like vibe. There is a wine tasting and tour every hour. You can option to take only the tour or the tour and tasting. We optioned for the tasting and tour both and oh how we made the right choice. Our tour guide Parthiban, showed us a short film on the coming of Big Banyan Wines giving us an overall view of the company. We were then taken through the vineyards where Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and others were grown. This was my first time in the vineyards and I could not help but take a few pictures amidst the vines. Unfortunately, harvest season here is around March so we did not get to see blooming grapes but the vineyards were a treasure, nonetheless.
Then, going into the fermentation room where huge steel tanks contained thousands of liters of wine, was fascinating to see, at the least. The smell was divine. Only the Legendary Shiraz here was oak barrel fermented and wooden cork screwed whilst the other kind of wines produced are fermented in steel tanks and normally bottled. I am no wine connoisseur but having passed my WSET level 1 has given me some knowledge about the wine world.
We tasted six kind
of wines:
The Lan’goor
White Wine
The Lan’goor Red
Wine
Chardonnay
Rose Wine
Shiraz
Dessert Wine
These wines were paired with two types of cheese and some crackers. The wines were a bit too sweet for my liking but my favorites were the Lan’goor White Wine and the Rose wine. The wine tasting guide was swift, efficient and knew his work around wines, although I wish the tasting was a bit more elaborated, I knew the tour and tastings were limited to one hour.
Big Banyan Wines
make absolutely divine wines, of course, but they also have a resort and their
Ranch. The Big Banyan Ranch, their restaurant is a whole other vibe where we
enjoyed a great pizza and a good time. It takes you somewhere else, this place.
If you are around Bengaluru, you should definitely give this place a vist.
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