From coconut water to wine (Part 1)

01/11/23 • 29 min

Tinkering with coconut water and life in the laboratory was not what Aniruddha Rajagopalan was meant to do. Instead, he became a winemaker.

The funny thing is, he had no exposure to wine growing up. The alcoholic beverages that he knew were popular in India were spirits and beer. Indian people consume far less wine each year than you might think, plus Indian culture discourages drinking alcohol.

As unusual as it may be, meet an Indian winemaker. In this episode, Ani talks about how he was fortunate to study winemaking abroad in Europe as well as learn foreign languages. As a result, he was able to travel on various adventures across the globe and discover all the essential aspects of winemaking.

What you will learn from this episode:

Find out about India's young wine industry including an interesting fact about people's consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Learn about how he became a winemaker by first tinkering with coconut water in the lab.
Discover and understand the real work that goes behind winemaking.
Know how to become a well-rounded winemaker and also be adept at marketing, finance, and the selling aspects of it.
Get to understand the importance of decision-making and the organizational matters that go with winemaking, especially that of a small winery.
Learn how to scout for educational opportunities about winemaking in prestigious schools around the globe and travel for work and leisure.
Find out the best ways to learn foreign languages like French and German.

Aniruddha Rajagopalan was born in India. He earned a degree in Microbiology at St. Joseph College in Bangalore, India. As the opportunity opened up for him, he went to study and finish MSc in Viticulture and Oenology at Montpellier, France, and Geisenheim, Germany.

He is proficient in both French and German languages. His work experiences include: Project trainee at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc/ in Bangalore, India, a cellarhand at Weingut Schloss Reinhartshausen and Wein und Sekthaus Schlossbergh in Eltville-Erbach and in Bingen, Germany, respectively. He was also once a cellarhand this time at Spring Creek Vintners Ltd. in Marlborough, New Zealand. Before coming to Canada, his last post was at KRSMA Estates Pvt. Ltd in Karnataka, India, as winemaker.

And currently, he is now a consulting winemaker at Fernwood Estates, Bainsville, ON; at the same time a tasting room staff at Buyers and Cellars Tasting Room, Ottawa, ON, and a viticultural specialist at Databaum, Basel, Switzerland.

Connect with Aniruddha Rajagopalan:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ani_rajagopalan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniruddha-rajagopalan-b42524119
Email: [email protected]

Topics Covered:

04:09 - Sharing about his birthplace and where he is originally from

05:23 - India's staple alcoholic beverages

06:04 - When did the first winery in India was put up, and Indian people's average consumption

07:15 - Becoming a winemaker, even with no exposure to wine in his childhood and early adult life

12:29 - Taking the chance to go to Europe for a Vinifera Euromasters education

13:55 - Being well-versed in foreign languages [how he managed to learn six languages, especially French and German]

16:34 - One good thing about studying in Europe regarding winemaking and what it was about it that shocked him [the hard work involved behind winemaking]

22:54 - More realizations about winemaking while on the job with a small winery

23:59 - Becoming a winemaker for the first time [having control over how the wine was made and dealing with all the other important aspects of winemaking]

26:55 - Why every bit of decision matter in a small winery

Quotes from Aniruddha Rajagopalan:

“Spirits and beer are the most popular alcoholic beverages in India.“

“The early eighties was when the first winery was established in India.”

“I remember reading a statistic about 15 years ago which said the average per capita consumption of wine in India was one teaspoon's worth (per year).”

“What I was doing in my research work there at the Center for Sustainable Technologies was trying to ferment coconut water.”

“I started reading books about wine, about wine making, to see how much of those ideas I could employ in fermenting coconut water.”

“The good thing about the program I studied in Europe was that the holidays between the first year and the second year kind of coincided with the European harvest. So you could spend your holiday working the harvest.”

“My idea of how wine was made was completely different from what it turned out to be.”

“I t...

Tinkering with coconut water and life in the laboratory was not what Aniruddha Rajagopalan was meant to do. Instead, he became a winemaker.

What you will learn from this episode:

Find out about India's young wine industry including an interesting fact about people's consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Learn about how he became a winemaker by first tinkering with coconut water in the lab.
Discover and understand the real work that goes behind winemaking.
Know how to become a well-rounded winemaker and also be adept at marketing, finance, and the selling aspects of it.
Get to understand the importance of decision-making and the organizational matters that go with winemaking, especially that of a small winery.
Learn how to scout for educational opportunities about winemaking in prestigious schools around the globe and travel for work and leisure.
Find out the best ways to learn foreign languages like French and German.

Connect with Aniruddha Rajagopalan:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ani_rajagopalan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniruddha-rajagopalan-b42524119
Email: [email protected]

Topics Covered:

04:09 - Sharing about his birthplace and where he is originally from

05:23 - India's staple alcoholic beverages

06:04 - When did the first winery in India was put up, and Indian people's average consumption

07:15 - Becoming a winemaker, even with no exposure to wine in his childhood and early adult life

12:29 - Taking the chance to go to Europe for a Vinifera Euromasters education

13:55 - Being well-versed in foreign languages [how he managed to learn six languages, especially French and German]

16:34 - One good thing about studying in Europe regarding winemaking and what it was about it that shocked him [the hard work involved behind winemaking]

22:54 - More realizations about winemaking while on the job with a small winery

23:59 - Becoming a winemaker for the first time [having control over how the wine was made and dealing with all the other important aspects of winemaking]

26:55 - Why every bit of decision matter in a small winery

Quotes from Aniruddha Rajagopalan:

“Spirits and beer are the most popular alcoholic beverages in India.“

“The early eighties was when the first winery was established in India.”

“I remember reading a statistic about 15 years ago which said the average per capita consumption of wine in India was one teaspoon's worth (per year).”

“What I was doing in my research work there at the Center for Sustainable Technologies was trying to ferment coconut water.”

“I started reading books about wine, about wine making, to see how much of those ideas I could employ in fermenting coconut water.”

“My idea of how wine was made was completely different from what it turned out to be.”

“I t...

Previous Episode

Top 10 Wine Experiences for 2022

We are all looking forward to what the new year has in store for us. However, now is a good time to reflect on what we have accomplished during this year. What makes the wine industry worthwhile is the people, passion, and experiences that come with the pleasure of tasting, drinking, and enjoying wine.

Laurel Simmons rounds up her top 10 best experiences on today's Wine Behind the Scenes episode.

Here are those that made it to the list:

#10: Wine in Costa Rica #9: Crete #8: I4C – the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Conference #7: Bulgaria #6: Athens and the surrounding area #5: The unnamed grape #4: Aristotle and the vineyard #3: Being a wine judge #2: Off-road and yelling at Gladys #1: The WBTS podcast

Come along with Laurel as she explores wine and vineyard destinations that promise tasting, drinking, dining, meeting people, travel, and experiences worth remembering and visiting.

You'll get enchanted by the beauty of the places, fascinated by the stories of meeting and connecting with people, and captivated by the history coming alive for you.

Also, find out what makes it an amazing year and one of the best ever for Laurel.

Connect with Laurel Simmons:

Website: winebehindthescenes.com

Next Episode

From coconut water to wine (Part 2)

As a result of studying winemaking in Europe, Aniruddha Rajagopalan has traveled around the world, experiencing different cultures and learning different languages.

Along the way, he built friendships and a network of passionate wine enthusiasts.

Passion and hard work are behind the best wines he tasted and enjoyed. After working for both big and small wineries, his experiences showed him that wine-making is nothing like what is romanticized in movies - he got a real understanding of what the actual work is like in wineries. Nevertheless, he also enjoyed himself and had a good time.

During this episode, we follow Ani as he travels the world, gets back to India and works at a winery that produces one of the best wines in the world, and finally, lives in Ottawa, Canada.

What you will learn from this episode:

Understand that winemaking is not all that romantic idea of how the movies would let us fantasize about it [it's all about hard work and dedication]
Learn about India's winery located in one of India's historic sites and considered a UNESCO heritage [plus what made their wines one of the best in the world which have won awards from prestigious international bodies]
Find out the Indian grape varieties they grow and the geographical location they are situated in and where they export their award-winning wines.
Know about his travels that allowed him work and fun and what drew him to Canada and start afresh as a winemaker.

And currently, he is now a consulting winemaker at Fernwood Estates, Bainsville, ON; at the same time a tasting room staff at Buyers and Cellars Tasting Room, Ottawa, ON and a viticultural specialist at Databaum, Basel, Switzerland.

Connect with Aniruddha Rajagopalan:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ani_rajagopalan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniruddha-rajagopalan-b42524119
Email: [email protected]

Topics Covered:

01:42 - An Experience he considers completely different, nothing he'd imagined after finishing his master's degree

05:08 - The hard work behind the winemaking in a large winery and the friendships made with people across the globe

07:09 - Finally heading back for India this time, after having been to a couple of countries and applying what he's learned from his studies and experiences working as a harvester and winemaker

08:47 - Describing the winery in India where he works, its geographical location, and weather conditions

09:48 - What grape variety do they grow in KRSMA Estates in India? [plus a detailed description of the vineyard's soil type, the temperature it is subjected to, and how it affects the grape's flavor and taste and also the wine]

14:17 - Where do Indian wineries export to?

15:00 - What brought him to Ottawa, Canada and not to any of the countries he had traveled to?

18:59 - How he ended up working in the wine bar at the same time being a winemaker

21:42 - Enjoying what he's doing now, experiencing all the aspects of the wine industry

22:44 - What he loves about Canada that surprised him

Quotes from Aniruddha Rajagopalan:

“I'd gone from working in a winery that did about, let's say, 500 tons of grapes a year to another winery that did 50 tons of grapes a year, and now to a winery that did 10,000 tons of grapes a year. And, it was completely different.”

“We were just constantly cycling through eight presses and filling them, pressing them, emptying them, cleaning them. Then they get filled again, then pressed again, emptied and cleaned. And this winery worked 24 hours and we worked 12 hour shifts.”

“It's exactly as you said where you'd gone from being this very idealistic student with lofty ideas of how wine is made with ideas that could fill a million romantic novels about wine making into something that was completely the opposite. It was the antithesis of everything that you would understood and tho...