Historia
Our passion for wine and respect for traditions have made the dream of Premium Indian Wines come true. The history starts from the 1960s with Kanwal Grover, father of Indian viticulture, and is being enriched with every generation.
Kanwal Grover, as a businessman, dealt in high technological equipment, space program, defence production and machine tools. His company imported products directly and only from France. With each visit to France, his taste for fine wines grew and he was hooked to the great French gastronomy. The passion kept growing while he worked abroad in the early 1960s. His initial aim was to attract more French engineers to India and making quality wines was a sure way to make them stay here. On one of his trips to France in the early 1970s, he visited some wineries. The process and the beauty of winemaking convinced him to transform his passion into a life time dedication. His dream of Grover Vineyards was incepted in this passion.
To realise his dream of creating premium vineyards in India, Grover met George Vesselle, the then Technical Director of Champagne Mumm Vineyard. During their first dinner, they realised that they were born on the same day of the same year – 1925. To celebrate this, Georges Vesselle opened a bottle of Bouzy Rouge 1925 from his private cellar. The unique friendship made Vesselle accept the challenge of growing French grape varieties in India. They were the pioneers of winemaking in India, exploring the country to find the most appropriate region to grow French grape varieties. In 1992 the first Grover Vineyard was setup.
When Georges Vesselle retired, Kanwal Grover looked for a new expert. While travelling in Bordeaux in 1994, he went to Cos d’Estournel, the famous Grand Cru, and met Bruno Prat, who introduced him to Michel Rolland, world’s most influential enologist. It was not easy to convince Rolland, who was already busy working with Argentinean and Chilean wineries. He thought Kanwal Grover, at the age of 60, was crazy to take the challenge to make wine in India. But Kanwal Grover’s genuine nature and passion struck a chord and Rolland accepted to come to India and see the vineyard.
Michel Rolland brought the best French traditions to create finest Indian wines. Since 1995, Michel Rolland has been advising Grover Vineyards for grape growing, harvesting and winemaking techniques. With his expertise, Grover continues to produce soft, rich, opulent and distinctive wines.
Today, Grover Vineyards is managed by Kapil Grover, son of Kanwal Grover. The vineyards have expanded from 100 acres to 400 acres under his able leadership. Through his respect for traditions, he carries forward the objective of producing premium quality wine in India. Like his father, who initiated viticulture in India, Kapil is an innovator. Utilising modern techniques he has significantly upgraded processes in the winery and subsequently, wine quality.
Karishma Grover, Kapil’s daughter, brings in fresh perspective of new generation. After studying at University of California (UC) Davis, world’s leading school of viticulture and oenology, she is now joining Grover Vineyards. She will take the winery forward in its expansion and course to produce high quality wines.