India

India's wine industry is young by global standards but has expanded quickly. The OIV estimated India's total area under vine at 185,000 hectares in 2024, up from 151,000 hectares in 2019, an average annual growth rate of 4.5 percent, and accounting for 2.6 percent of world vineyard area. Most of this area grows table and drying grapes rather than wine grapes, unlike the global pattern where grapes are grown mainly for winemaking; India's wine production itself is concentrated in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

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

Literary records place the history of winemaking in India back to the 13th century BCE, according to Decanter, though today's commercial wine industry owes its origins to entrepreneurs in the late 20th century. The pioneering Chateau Indage was founded in 1986 by the late Shamrao Chougule in Narayangaon, Maharashtra, 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 an interest in wine during business trips to France, founded 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, per Decanter. In 1997, Rajeev Samant, returning to his native Nashik from Silicon Valley, established Sula Vineyards.

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

The Maharashtra state government's wine policy and subsidies encouraged a wave of new wineries in the early 2000s, but many struggled due to limited viticultural and winemaking expertise. The 2007 global financial crisis and the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks contributed to further setbacks; Chateau Indage, once listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, collapsed in the early 2010s, according to Decanter. Consolidation followed: Visvires Capital combined Grover Vineyards in Karnataka with Vallee de Vin in Nashik to form Grover Zampa, now described by Decanter as 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 remains the largest winery in the country, with annual production over 10 million liters, per Decanter. 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 mango and jamun.

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

Maharashtra and Karnataka anchor Indian wine production. Nashik, in Maharashtra, sits at roughly 670 meters altitude, which Decanter reports helps retain acidity during the growing season; the district's Niphad and Dindori talukas account for around 80 percent of Nashik's grape production, and Nashik overall contributes about 73 percent of Maharashtra's grape production and 82 percent of the state's grape exports, per the National Horticulture Board. Nashik Valley Wine received a Geographical Indication tag in 2008, and the Nashik grape received its own GI tag in 2010, also per the National Horticulture Board. In Karnataka, the Nandi Hills near Bangalore rise to about 920 meters, a cooler site that Kanwal Grover chose for Grover Vineyards; during the British colonial period, Bangalore served as a summer retreat because of its cooler climate, according to Decanter. Decanter also notes that lower-altitude sites such as Solapur and Sangli in southern Maharashtra, and Bijapur in northern Karnataka, produce riper, plusher grapes, and that the distance between Nashik and the Nandi Hills is about 1,000 kilometers, comparable to the distance between the Rheingau in Germany and Tuscany in Italy.

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

India's vineyards are dominated by table and raisin grape varieties. According to the National Horticulture Board's Nashik profile, the district grows Thompson Seedless, Sonaka, Sharad Seedless, and Tas-e-Ganesh, with harvesting running from early February to early April, and Nashik is also known for Jumbo Black seedless raisins, supported by a raisin cluster of 43 processing units that account for 43 percent of the state's raisin exports. India's subtropical climate means vines have no true dormancy, which the country's growers manage through monsoon-timed pruning: pruning starts in late August and can run into early October depending on when the monsoon clears, since the timing of pruning determines the timing of the following harvest, per Decanter.

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

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 2026-09-17.

• National Horticulture Board (nhb.gov.in)
• OIV, International Organisation of Vine and Wine (oiv.int)
• Decanter (secondary)
• Last verified 2026-09-17