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Raghavendra Gowda works the vineyards DNA
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He was introduced to fine wines at the age of 20 and now, almost a decade or so later, Raghavendra Gowda can claim to be one of the finest vignerons in India. It all began with a large empty piece of land, surrounded by hills, one of South India’s most revered rivers and a view that’s as picturesque as a postcard, but we’re going too fast… let’s start at the very, very beginning.
It’s a wonderfully warm Bangalorean February evening and UB City’s piazza has never looked more splendid. The mesmerising fountain has been turned on, capturing quite playfully the changing lights in the sky and blending them with the ambient light of happy smiles and well-lit restaurants. This is definitely a good evening for some atypical bacchanalian indulgence.
I meet Raghavendra Gowda with a group of his colleagues, dressed quite casually, reclining on a chair at Café Noir. His long hair, well-kempt and tied back into a ponytail, immediately speaks of a hidden bohemian, dressed and prettied up, quite formally, to suit the requirements of the evening. I am already sold, quite a bit.
“My family has been in the liquor business for quite some time now. We make raw spirits that are used for various purposes and that business is based out of Bangalore. The idea to start a vineyard and try and produce our own wines began when I first heard of this vast tract of land that was readily available to our family,” shares Raghavendra, opening up a conversation that only got more interesting as the evening unfurled.
“Initially, we wanted to buy cheap wine from Europe for sale in India, but when I visited Europe to source these wines, I was suddenly shocked and wonderfully pleased and surprised at how seriously these people took their wine. In no time, I was converted from a businessman worried about quantity to a budding oenophile, searching for quality, and my journey with wines began then,” he tells us.
Alpine Wineries, as the vineyard has now been named, opened in 2007, when Raghavendra finally took a plunge and planted the first grape vines on his property close by Talakadu in Mysore. After a continuous learning programme and eight years of studies in Europe, he was finally confident enough to give his dream a shot.
“I believe that a good wine is completely dependent on a good grape and so I needed to ensure that I had the best grafts for my stock. After numerous experiments with 63 combinations of different varietals and rootstocks, we finally settled on 12 noble grape varieties (six red and six white), which we decided to plant,” he continues.
“It was a tough time, we were worried about the outcome, but it worked and we harvested our first successful plantation crop in 2009. We’ve been learning and refining our process since and every day is a new experience. Like they say in Europe — the best manure for a vineyard are the footprints of a hands-on owner — I have tried to ensure that I am as involved with the day to day activities of the vineyard and I love the feeling,” he adds.
Recently, the government of Karnataka, agreed to a proposal placed by the Gowda family, to rename the Mysore-Mandya region as a new wine region in the state. With support from Vandita Sharma, the principal secretary of the horticultural department and chairman of the Karnataka Wine Board, Alpine Wineries became the first vineyard in the Kaveri Valley, thus increasing the number of wine regions in the state to three.
“The quality of the soil is a huge determining factor in the successful growth of vines. So much so, we decided on our grafts and rootstocks only after analysing the soil. The soil, subsoil and the bedrock — each component is combined here in perfect harmony. The Kaveri river has ensured the development of a red sandy loamy soil over several years and we have used that to our benefit,” he tells us.
I’m suddenly distracted by a group of middle aged foreigners, who I later learn are of French origin, saying quite wonderful things about the wine they’re sipping. I learn in no time that these foreigners are some of the first people to experience the Alpine Wineries 2010 vintage. They were being served a wonderfully deep-red Shiraz and were singing endless praises and congratulating our wine-grower in question.
A glowing Raghavendra Gowda returned to our conversation happier and content. “I’m really happy they like what we’ve produced. It’s almost like you’ve passed an exam — that’s the kind of exhilaration that I’m experiencing right now. I got into this business to make money, I agree, but over time and after all the hard work put in, what really matters more, is that people find a difference in the quality of my wine, hopefully a positive one. There are many vignerons in India, what sets me apart from them, is my love for the detail. I really have put in as much as I can to ensure a good wine and if that’s what comes out of it at the end of day, I couldn’t be happier,” he concludes.
The evening slowly turns into night, and soon I realise that at least a few hours have passed. Raghavendra Gowda is different from any vigneron I have met before, simply because he’s an encyclopaedia of information concerning wines. His love and quest for a good wine sets him apart from the rest and has led him to take the science and business behind wine-growing quite seriously. To call him a wine-lover would be unfair on my part, and so, I’d rather call him India’s finest sommelier in the making.
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