India’s only world-class cultural event and music festival ushered in another successful decade with power-packed performances, great food and of course fabulous wine
With an aspiration to break boundaries and set new milestones as India’s leading Gourmet World Music Festival, SulaFest 2018 was the 11th edition of the two-day music, food and wine extravaganza. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Sula’s own lush vineyards the festival gave audiences a unique experience of the best from the worlds of music, food and wine. The vineyards were brought to life with culinary and cultural experiences that left fest-goers with memories to cherish for a lifetime.
This year fest-goers swayed to the tunes of over 100 artists including Bollywood sensation Amit Trivedi who set the stage on fire and wowed his rapt audience. Electrifying performances by internationally celebrated artists including Gypsy Hill, electronic-folk band Crystal Fighters, Austrian music producer and performing artist Parov Stellar and vocal groove band Bauchklang also left the audiences spellbound.
Whilst music enthusiasts had their passion satiated by performances on the 2 stages, food and drink connoisseurs indulged their senses and taste buds with some of the finest flavours from across the world.
The gourmet food spread gave fest-goers the chance to gorge on a range of scrumptious cuisines including Oriental, Mughlai, Indian and Italian amongst others. In addition to award-winning wines from Sula (including their 3 recent Indian Wine Consumer Choice Awards 2018 gold medal winners), brands such as Beluga, Hardys, Mud House, Kumala, Asahi, Cointreau, Highland Queen and Pitu Cachaca added to global soul of the festival
Sprinkling a little glitz and glamour on the event celebrities, socialites and industrialists such as Shibani Kashyap, Siddharth of ‘Rang De Basanti’ fame, Sonali Sehgal of ‘Pyaar ka Punchnama’, Prahlad Kakkar, Suchitra Pillai, Kashmira Shah and Mansi Scott, amongst others, were spotted grooving to the tunes at the festival.
Rajeev Samant, CEO & Founder of Sula Vineyards was once again delighted with the festival and said overjoyed with the success of the festival saying: “What an incredible weekend! Fantastic to see the vineyards packed with fest-goers yet again. It is always such a delight to open our doors for SulaFest and seeing so many people having such a great time makes it all worthwhile! I am immensely grateful to all our partners and the artists for the part they play in SulaFest but of course it is the audience that makes it such a great experience. I am sure they have all gone away with more SulaFest memories just as I have”
Speaking about SulaFest 2018, Ken Pritchard, Senior Vice President, Marketing & International Sales, Sula Vineyards said, “What a great weekend! Another fabulous SulaFest which everyone enjoyed. A huge thank-you to all our sponsors and partners, we couldn’t do it without you! The ultimate measure of success is happy fest-goers and I saw many thousands of those over the 2 days. The second decade of SulaFest has arrived!"
In addition to the finest food, wine and music, some of the highlights of the festival included specially curated experiences, such as grape stomping sessions and games hosted by Tinder. Giving audiences the perfect weekend getaway, “Camp Tinder” featured bonfire sessions with exclusive acoustic performances by spectacular artists. Taking forward the successful association from the last edition, Brookside by Hershey’s sampled their pomegranate, Blueberry and Raspberry chocolates at the fest whilst Jal, the SulaFest hydration partner kept the audience cool in the glorious sunny weather. Some of the activities that took the crowd by storm included exclusive meet and greet sessions with the artists performing at the SulaFest tent city, treasure hunts and exquisite wine and food pairing sessions. The SulaFest Bazaar offered a selection of unique, funky items that added to the festival experience, especially for all the shopaholics!
In line with the core principle of making SulaFest synonymous with ‘The World Gourmet Music Festival’, organisers of Sula plan to include diverse new experiences in years to come making the next editions even bigger and better. SVP Marketing and International Sales adding: “We aim to make SulaFest the best festival experience in India, so look out for some great new experiences in 2019!”
About Sula Vineyards:
Sula Vineyards is by far India’s first choice in wine. Their award-winning wines are available nationwide at the finest hotels and restaurants, and are also exported throughout the world. Sula is on track to sell a million cases of wine in 2018.
Sula is also a pioneer in India’s wine tourism opening the country’s first winery Tasting Room in 2005 and first vineyard resort, Beyond by Sula, in 2007. In March 2017, the company opened India’s first heritage winery resort, The Source at Sula. Their annual music festival SulaFest taking place yearly in the first weekend of February is one of the country's most awaited festivals.
With over 250,000 visitors last year, Sula is one of the most visited wineries in the world and the #1 spot where Indians first taste wine.
Sula Vineyards recently won the prestigious Drinks Business Award 2016 for the ‘Best Contribution to Wine and Spirits Tourism’! This is the first time an Indian company has won a Drinks Business Award.
Firmly committed to remaining at the forefront of Indian wines, Sula continues to experiment with new varietals, engage in sustainable agriculture and support the local rural economy. Sula is well on its way to becoming one of the world’s most sustainable wine producers.
In addition, the company is also a leading wine and spirits importer, with Sula Selections, a portfolio of prestigious brands like Rémy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne, Cointreau, Hardys, Cono Sur and Asahi.
For information on the entire Sula brand portfolio, visit www.sulavineyards.com