From hating wine to becoming India’s first female wine maker, it’s been an educational ride
Karishma Grover (29) Associate Wine Maker, Grover Vineyards
She cringed at her first taste of wine as a child. But an encounter with Michel Rolland, the Bordeaux-based oenologist at the age of 16, effected a change. “Michel has had a phenomenal influence on my career. I began following him around in vineyards, taking in everything he was saying, fascinated,” she says.
Grover decided to study viticulture and oenology, with a minor in managerial economics from the University of California, Davis. She also did an internship at Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley.
“Wine is an integral part of my upbringing, but I wanted to take my legacy to new heights,” she says. Unlike her contemporaries, Grover decided to focus on quality control in winemaking, and started at the bottom of the rung as an assistant wine maker.
Her day begins at 7 am during the peak season (between February and May) in the Nandi Hills estate. She inspects grapes, checks the fermentation process and decides how to sort the wine into different categories. “Much of the day goes in walking and it gets pretty tiring.” As a new winery has opened in Nasik, Grover’s time is divided between the two cities.
The hardest part of her job is people management. “In the States, smaller tasks are often automated with someone to supervise the machines. I only have to deal with people at higher levels. Here, I have to interact with everyone, from the grape-picker to the highest executive. It gets overwhelming,” she observes. That said, her India experience has boosted her confidence. “The eagerness here is refreshing. Every day is a different challenge.”
A 12-hour day ends with Grover thoroughly exhausted but satisfied. “I usually take a walk near my house to clear my head. It helps me relax.” She lives in Yelahanka so she doesn’t drive into the city often, and draws solace from her never-ending vineyards.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Work / by Sindhuja Balaji, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / December 07th, 2013