India

India's vineyard has expanded quickly. Total area under vine reached an estimated 185,000 hectares in 2024, up from 151,000 hectares in 2019, an average annual growth rate of 4.5 percent, and accounted for 2.6 percent of world vineyard area. Most of the crop is eaten as fresh fruit, with only a limited quantity used for liquor or raisins, the reverse of the global pattern, where grapes are grown mainly for winemaking. Maharashtra leads grape production, followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

• 185,000 hectares under vine in 2024 (estimate)
• 4.5 percent average annual vineyard growth, 2019 to 2024
• 2.6 percent share of total world vineyard area in 2024

Literary records date winemaking in India back to the 13th century BCE, though today's wine industry owes its origins to Indian entrepreneurs in the late 20th century. The pioneering Chateau Indage was founded in 1986 by the late Shamrao Chougule in Narayangaon, Maharashtra, halfway between Nashik and Pune; its bottle-fermented sparkling wine, Omar Khayyam, won medals in UK wine competitions in the late 1980s. Kanwal Grover, who developed a passion for wine during business trips to France in the 1980s, set up Grover Vineyards in the Nandi Hills outside Bangalore and launched its first wines in 1996. French expertise supported both ventures: Piper-Heidsieck advised Chateau Indage and Champagne Mumm consulted for Grover. In 1997, Rajeev Samant, returning to his native Nashik from Silicon Valley, established Sula Vineyards.

• Chateau Indage founded 1986 in Narayangaon, Maharashtra, by Shamrao Chougule
• Grover Vineyards launched its first wines in 1996 in the Nandi Hills, Karnataka
• Sula Vineyards founded 1997 in Nashik by Rajeev Samant

The Maharashtra state government's wine policy and subsidies encouraged a wave of new wineries in the early 2000s, but a lack of expertise in growing wine grapes and in producing and selling wine left many of them struggling. The 2007 global financial crisis and the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks brought further setbacks, and Chateau Indage, once listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, collapsed in the early 2010s. Consolidation followed: Visvires Capital combined Grover Vineyards in Karnataka with Vallee de Vin in Nashik to form Grover Zampa, now the country's second largest producer, and Visvires also acquired Charosa Vineyards in Nashik and Four Seasons Vineyards in Pune, the latter formerly owned by Vijay Mallya's UB Group. Sula Vineyards is the largest winery in the country, with annual production over 10 million liters. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, small garage wineries such as Plateaux Vintners, run by former Sula chief winemaker Ajoy Shaw, and Nipha Winery have also emerged, alongside a growing market for fruit wines made from local produce such as mango and the indigenous jamun.

• Grover Zampa, formed from Grover Vineyards and Vallee de Vin, is India's second largest producer
• Sula Vineyards produces over 10 million liters a year, the largest winery in the country
• Post-Covid small garage wineries including Plateaux Vintners and Nipha Winery have entered the market

Maharashtra and Karnataka are the two leading grape-growing states. Nashik, in Maharashtra, sits at roughly 670 meters, an altitude that brings cooler growing-season temperatures and helps retain acidity. The district's Niphad and Dindori talukas account for around 80 percent of Nashik's grape production, and Nashik contributes about 73 percent of Maharashtra's grape production and 82 percent of the state's grape exports. Nashik Valley Wine received a Geographical Indication tag in 2008, and the Nashik grape received its own GI tag in 2010. In Karnataka, the Nandi Hills near Bangalore rise to about 920 meters; during the British colonial period Bangalore served as a summer retreat because of its cooler climate, which is why Kanwal Grover chose the Nandi Hills as the base for Grover Vineyards. Lower-altitude sites such as Solapur and Sangli in southern Maharashtra, and Bijapur in northern Karnataka, tend to give riper grapes and a plusher quality in the wine. Nashik and the Nandi Hills lie about 1,000 kilometers apart, the same distance as between the Rheingau in Germany and Tuscany in Italy, which brings a substantial difference in climate conditions.

• Nashik Valley Wine received a GI tag in 2008; Nashik grape received a GI tag in 2010
• Nashik contributes about 73 percent of Maharashtra's grape production and 82 percent of its grape exports
• Nandi Hills, Karnataka sit at about 920 meters; Nashik, Maharashtra sits at about 670 meters

Most of India's grapes are eaten fresh rather than made into wine. Nashik grows Thompson Seedless, Sonaka, Sharad Seedless, and Tas-e-Ganesh, with harvesting running from early February to early April. The district is also known for its Jumbo Black seedless raisins, supported by a raisin cluster of 43 processing units that accounts for 43 percent of the state's raisin exports. Because vines have no dormancy in India's subtropical climate, the monsoon shapes the vineyard calendar: pruning starts in late August and can run as late as early October, depending on the grower's confidence that the monsoon has passed. The timing of that pruning sets the timing of the following harvest; the later the pruning in autumn, the later the harvest in the new year.

• Nashik grape varieties include Thompson Seedless, Sonaka, Sharad Seedless, and Tas-e-Ganesh
• Nashik has a raisin cluster of 43 processing units, contributing 43 percent of the state's raisin exports
• Vines in India's subtropical climate have no dormancy; pruning timing (typically late August to early October) sets the harvest schedule

Primary sources: National Horticulture Board, Government of India, Grape model project report (https://nhb.gov.in/model-project-reports/Horticulture%20Crops/Grape/Grape1.htm); National Horticulture Board, Nashik: Grape Capital of India brochure (https://nhb.gov.in/pdf/NashikBrochure.pdf); International Organisation of Vine and Wine, State of the World Vine and Wine Sector in 2024 (https://www.oiv.int/sites/default/files/documents/OIV-State_of_the_World_Vine-and-Wine-Sector-in-2024.pdf). Secondary source: Decanter, An introduction to Indian wine (https://www.decanter.com/premium/an-introduction-to-indian-wine-533603/). Last verified 2026-10-05.

• National Horticulture Board (nhb.gov.in)
• OIV, International Organisation of Vine and Wine (oiv.int)
• Decanter (secondary)
• Last verified 2026-10-05