About Us
From a dream to cultivating it into a reality, Mr. Pradeep Pachpatil (PSP), CMD, Somanda Vineyards has come a long way with mere hardwork and determination. Coming from an agricultural background, PSP has a Master’s degree in Chemistry; post which he joined GNFC, Bharuch.Â
Once, he got a chance to visit Pimpalgaon, where a winery named Pimpane was going to be inaugurated and this was where PSP met the Chairman, Mr. Madhav Rao More. At Mr. More’s behest, PSP decided to stay back and learn winemaking. He trained under an experienced French winemaker, Mr. Jean Manuel Jacquinot, who owned a Champagne House in Epernay.
After a 3 year stint of valuable experience with the French Winemaker JMJ, PSP then took a step ahead and moved to IndageIndia, Narayangaon. After an 8 year-long stint, PSP then moved back to his beloved hometown, Nashik. He worked with Sula Vineyards as the senior Vice-president of Operations for over a decade, which was then more of a small, boutique winery and then became a massive success. He trained himself in the art of wine-making in the company of Chilean, French, South African and American winemakers, making him one of the foremost winemakers in India. He worked closely with Mr Kerry Damsky, a winemaker from California for about 13 harvests. He has played a pivotal role in building a strong foundation for the Indian Wine Industry.
After travelling far and wide, in 2006, he built a farmhouse on a 10 hectare land with a private pool. This was when suggestions started pouring in to rent the place to travellers who would like to spend a day or two close to the vineyards. What began as a suggestion soon became a popular idea and soon it was leased to Sula, the famous winemakers, to look after and manage the property. Afterwards, PSP decided to extend his property and make it into a resort; a 32 room vineyard resort took shape which was also run by Sula as ‘Beyond’. Today this beautiful resort and Soma winery is run as a family business, and its biggest strength is the constant and immense support that the PachPatil family extends to the business.
Soma Vine Village is one of the most sought destinations in and around Nashik and has made a mark for itself for being India’s first vineyard resort. In 2012, PSP started his first boutique winery.The white wines were launched in August 2014 after the 1st harvest in January 2014. PSP’s vision is to create an ideal boutique winery business model that would inspire and benefit farmers and budding entrepreneurs.
Story So Far…
Beyond Vineyard Resort took shape in 2010 and was further leased to Sula until June 2016. The resort of Soma Vine Village has two parallel buildings, comprising of a multi-cuisine Restaurants, Somras Conference Hall & Madeira Private Dining overlooking the vineyards. The winery is located right behind the complex with 20 tanks in varying sizes preserving Soma’s finest wines! In 2014 an additional 7 room villa was built mainly to cater to group and family get-togethers. This villa came with a private pool. The villa has an in-house chef, who cooks delicious home-made food.
The first vintage of Soma wines was presented in January 2014 and features Chenin Blanc in two styles – one, a semi sweet variety and the other a dry variety, as well as a dessert wine made from the late harvest of the same grape. Similarly there are two styles of Sauvignon Blanc – one which is produced according to the oxidative style, which has slightly grassy flavors and the other that follows the reductive style and is slightly fruity, along with a dessert wine made from Sauvignon Blanc. Then there is Zinfandel, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet Sauvignon–Shiraz blend and a Rose from Shiraz.
After a 7 year long stint with Chateau Indage, PSP came back to Nashik and bought some land on the outskirts of the city. It was on this land he planted varieties of grapes. The 25 acre land proudly boasts of 5 varieties, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet and Zinfandel. In 2006, PSP built a 3bhk villa amidst the vineyards. While working with Sula, he came up with the idea of wine tourism and hence beyond, a vineyard resort was born. This 32- room property comes with 2 lavish pools and one baby pool, a vino-spa, a restaurant and a gymnasium.
2017 & 2018
Awarded as the Best Luxury Resort in Nashik for 2017
2007
2014
2010
Story So Far…
2007
The Beginning
After a 7 year long stint with Chateau Indage, PSP came back to Nashik and bought some land on the outskirts of the city. It was on this land he planted varieties of grapes. The 25 acre land proudly boasts of 5 varieties, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet and Zinfandel. In 2006, PSP built a 3bhk villa amidst the vineyards. While working with Sula, he came up with the idea of wine tourism and hence beyond, a vineyard resort was born. This 32- room property comes with 2 lavish pools and one baby pool, a vino-spa, a restaurant and a gymnasium.
2010
THE FIRST RESORT BUILT
Beyond Vineyard Resort took shape in 2010 and was further leased to Sula until June 2016. The resort of Soma Vine Village has two parallel buildings, comprising of a multi-cuisine Restaurants, Somras Conference Hall & Madeira Private Dining overlooking the vineyards. The winery is located right behind the complex with 20 tanks in varying sizes preserving Soma’s finest wines! In 2014 an additional 7 room villa was built mainly to cater to group and family get-togethers. This villa came with a private pool. The villa has an in-house chef, who cooks delicious home-made food.
2017 & 2018
BEST LUXURY RESORT IN NASHIK
Awarded as the Best Luxury Resort in Nashik for 2017
2014
FIRST VINTAGE OF SOMA WINES
The first vintage of Soma wines was presented in January 2014 and features Chenin Blanc in two styles – one, a semi sweet variety and the other a dry variety, as well as a dessert wine made from the late harvest of the same grape. Similarly there are two styles of Sauvignon Blanc – one which is produced according to the oxidative style, which has slightly grassy flavors and the other that follows the reductive style and is slightly fruity, along with a dessert wine made from Sauvignon Blanc. Then there is Zinfandel, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet Sauvignon–Shiraz blend and a Rose from Shiraz.