Chandon
India
Chandon
India
At CHANDON, it always begins with “What if…?”
It’s our favourite conversation opener.
The most recent member of our family is CHANDON India founded in 2014. Its site is in Nashik, Maharashtra, in the Western Ghats range. Following in the pioneering and entrepreneurial footsteps of our founders, this dynamic operation is pure CHANDON: it is crafting innovative bubbles from unusual grapes in an unexpected land.
Creation date: 2014
Estate director: Rajesh Dixit
Website: www.chandon.co.in
Identity
Nashik, in the Western Ghats mountain range, is where you’ll find the youngest CHANDON sibling.
India is our wild card and our latest new frontier.
In 2010, Tony Jordan, Chef winemaker at CHANDON Australia set off to learn about India’s emerging viticultural regions, from Bangalore in the south to Himachal Pradesh in the north. India has no long wine tradition, no terroirs with centuries of form. Its climate is tropical, with fierce summers and torrential monsoon rains.
Tony Jordan finally homed in on a terroir around Dindori, Nashik, 200km northeast of Mumbai. The first grapes – Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – were bought in February 2011 and vinified in rented equipment and tanks at a local winery. CHANDON India was officially launched with the release of the first cuvées in January 2014, and our winery was opened in April 2016
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CHANDON ROSE
Fruity and delicate. A 100% Shiraz rosé sparkling wine, sophisticated and delicate. Intense aromas of ripe cherries, red fruits and soft grapefruit lead to a rich, creamy, persistent finish with subtle hints of guava and rose-petal pot pourri.
Insights
“I’m the youngest head winemaker in the CHANDON family. I was born in Nashik, so I have lived and breathed wine from an early age. I have also studied and been involved in winemaking in France, Portugal, New Zealand, the USA and Brazil before coming back home to Nashik.
The challenge, here, was to produce a sparkling wine in a sub-tropical climate that met CHANDON’s high quality standards, and to build a winery that we could be proud of. And we did it.
The best part of working with CHANDON has been the exchange of ideas. Some of my colleagues around the world have been working for 30, 40 years for the brand. If I have a discussion for an hour with those guys I can tap into that experience. ”
EVERYONE IS WELCOME AT OUR TABLE
CHANDON India’s spectacular winery is set in 21 acres in the picturesque Nashik foothills on the outskirts of Dindori.
This is ancient ground with a wealth of temples and traditional structures, so a sympathetic approach was needed. Cue a colonnaded exterior that’s a contemporary take on the area’s hill-station architecture, yet belies an ultra-modern, hi-tech facility within.
The journey by road from Mumbai is one that many stressed city-dwellers are happy to make for a truly relaxing experience and the chance to acquire new wine knowledge.
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FUTURE
At CHANDON India, we are involved in a lot of work on sustainability, the care for the environment and socially beneficial practices. We are keeping our chemical use as low as it can possibly be, using natural organic fertilizer to keep our soils healthy.
Much of our water is sourced from ground storage and we recycle it all. We are involved in lots of education initiatives in the local area on waste recycling and keeping the waterways clean.
The sun can be relied on; thus 20 – 25%of our energy comes from our 150kW rooftop solar installation.
There’s always more to do, and we at CHANDON India are always on the look out to better serve Mother Nature.
Key figures
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2014 Date of foundation of
CHANDON India -
600 Meters
is the average altitude of our vineyards -
2020 Best Indian Sparkling wine
CHANDON rosé Voted BEST INDIAN SPARKLING WINE@ CSWWC, Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2020
Drink responsibly.