„Sunset Barbeque
It was a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon when we all set out for Soma vineyard of local vineyard owner D N Raju, an hour’s drive north of Bangalore; organized by Maureen Kerleau of the Wine Appreciation Club.

Palmen mitten im Weinberg sind schon eine Seltenheit.

Der wunderschöne Blick vom Hang über den See.

Die Picknick-Atmosphäre ließ die ganze Veranstaltung sehr ungezwungen ablaufen.

Die Weinberge hier liegen inmitten solcher Hügel.

Winzer Raju, ganz links, interessiert sich für unsere Geschmacksvorlieben.

Das Gewitter machte freundlicherweise einen Bogen um unseren Picknickplatz!

Ihr könnt euch wahrscheinlich nicht vorstellen, wie ungewöhnlich hier so ein gemütlicher Lagerfeuerabend ist...

The last part of the journey was rather a bumpy ride along a mud track, but Raju had kindly posted sentinels along the way to guide us to the vineyard itself. Everyone was surprised to find a hilly estate with lots of coconut and teak trees, not at all the usual straight, stark rows of vines like the ones we passed a few miles before at Grover Vineyards, but the vines were indeed there, showing their new green leaves, fresh after the autumn pruning.
This is the only vineyard in the World with coconut trees growing among the vines. Raju grows a wide variety of grapes in his nearly 90 acre vineyard, mainly Shiraz, or Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc, all of which he supplies to the neighbouring Grover Winery, but he has recently planted an experimental plot with no less than 12 varieties that he has brought back from his travels across the Globe and intends to test them all individually for several years (it takes about four years for a vine plant to produce grapes good enough to produce wine) to see which have adapted best to the local soil and climatic conditions. Raju believes in growing anything, even wine grapes, in the most natural surroundings possible and despite pressure from different wine technicians and advisors insisting that grapes can only grow on their own with no other vegetation drawing the water or minerals from the soil, he has proved that this does not affect the quality of the grapes. The trees even provide a certain amount of shade for the vines.
The setting was truly idyllic, on gentle slopes leading down to a lake, with a backdrop of granite hills, and a magnificent view over the surrounding fertile plains; about the closest thing to the Garden of Eden on that sunny evening.
After a leisurely tour around the estate where Raju explained his natural cultivation methods, using no herbicides or harmful pesticides, with many ingenious ways of ridding the vines of insects, we made our way back up the slope to an open area which had been set out for the barbecue. Meanwhile, in the distance, the storm clouds were growing darker and darker with an occasional rumble of thunder and lightening, but thankfully it just contributed to the atmosphere of the surroundings and the evening remained beautiful.
In planning for the barbecue we were each asked to bring a bottle of our favourite Indian wine. Before the camp fire was lit, we gathered around to talk about those Indian wines we appreciated most and as the sun set around the vineyard we had an interesting discussion with Raju about the different Indian wineries and their wines. The sunset really was stunning with the suns pink rays reflecting both in the east and the west.
The barbecue was organised by one of Bangalore’s best butchers, who grilled the most delicious steaks, chicken and burgers. We shared our favourite bottles of wine, everyone brought their favourite salad or desert and eating by the light of the campfire reminded many of us of life back home. Most of us had not seen so many stars in a long time. Being so far from a city or even a village there was nothing to spoil their shine.
After a lovely warm evening we all made our way sleepily back to Bangalore, thankful for our drivers and feeling that there are indeed some beautiful places in India, and not even so far from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore.“