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Bellevie label
Also a part of this recent history is his penchant to
get feedback from various people and listen (not a very Bordeaux like
quality, perhaps!). During the very first year, some time in 2004, his
sales team had contacted me for a tasting of wines they had imported from
Bordeaux. The basic Bellevie (the brand owned by his negociants) Bordeaux
Superiore, I found very astringent at 80% Cabernet and 20% Merlot mix.
I had all but forgotten about it when I met Ranjit for
the first time in Mumbai and was really impressed by his love and passion
for wines and vines. When I tasted the same Bellevie, I really loved it.
At Rs.650, it was a Bordeaux on the budget, for crissake! 'But sir, you
seem to have forgotten,' said Avik Duke, his VP marketing. 'You only had
suggested making it 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet and when we discussed
with Mr. Dhuru he had the existing ratio reversed. And since then, we
have been selling this wine like hot cakes. At under Rs. 700, I thought
it was a steal from Bordeaux (we recommended the wine, in fact, in our
delWine issue 94).
Chateau OK, but why d'Ori
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| Dhuru with his viticulturist- Nera and Ori hills in the background |
Appreciating his passion for Bordeaux I asked him why
he had chosen the name d'Ori (in government records his winery is listed
under D as Dori Winery in the vernacular). 'When you see the
vineyards you will know, why. Our land is adjoining twin hills of Nera
and Ori-in fact there is a small temple also known as Nera temple. So
we chose d'Ori as our name. It does make perfect sense…
Especially, after seeing the vineyard location. I could
visualise a wine resort (like an agriturismo in Italy). The small mountains
adjoining the vineyard would make for lovely walks and if he could lay
his hands on a few acres, he could use them to make permanent cottages,
with all the modern amenities, making it a great vacation place on the
vineyards.
Till then, he has to live with the 430 acres he has
bought (which must have appreciated about 370% since he bought the land).
'But you must appreciate the conversion cost-it was a barren piece of
land'. 'The conversion includes 3 man made lakes- it is my theory and
my winemaker's view that water body helps the quality of grapes,' he adds.
With a 100 acre of land already under cultivation, including 18 acres
of high density Merlot vineyards, the biggest in india, he seems to be
on a good turf, for now.
Quality is the key
Quality and an eye for detail is another thing that
impressed me about Ranjit. 'Most wineries in this area claim to make the
best wine in the very early years of their vines. I believe they have
to be 3-4 years old before we can get good enough fruit for wines.
That's the reason Ranjit Chose to sell off the grapes
for the first 3-4 vintages. 'In fact, the first real fruit was not of
any good quality. But a winery in the area insisted on buying them, so
we sold them. But I believe we are ready only now to use our own grapes
for the wine.'
Winery
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| Winery under completion |
The winery, located in the middle of nowhere looks straight
from the James Bond movie, Dr. No. Made as a beautiful round structure,
as much under ground as over it, the winery is still undergoing finishing
touches. When it is fully ready, it will be a state-of the art building
with the 'latest concept in Bordeaux, of keeping the tanks in concentric
circles in a circular structure, so that with the gentry's cranes, the
movement is minimal and all under one roof.
Use of computers and the latest gadgetry are on the
suggested shopping list of Fakorellis who has helped design the Dori
Winery will make it the preferred choice for many a student interested
in wine making.
The 45000 sq ft winery has burnt a hole worth Rs.12
crores in the pockets of partners who are from the family only. Another
4 crores will be spent by the time the whole equipment sets in, adds Dhuru.
'We have installed the best possible, imported equipment from Italy and
France- only the tanks are from here only.
'We are using the imported bottles from Piramals, Srilanka.'
The top two wines are bottled in St. Gobin 'Bordeaux Emotion'- dark and
taller bottles which I later found being referred to as Bordeaux Europe
bottles in Italy.
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