Nashik valley wine farming imported grape plant varieties of Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Zinfandel and planted them in the land owned by his family. In 1997, Kerry Damskey, a leading wine maker from California's Sonoma Valley (the largest wine producer in the Wine Country region) provided the expertise for crushing of wine grapes. The first wine came to be marketed in March 2000 under the trade name "Sula". Several other farmers joined him in propagation of this effort. The wine magazine the "Sommeliar India", reported that Nashik Valley Wine was first marketed by Sula in 2000. The grape varieties raised in the
Stargarder Land (wine region) cooperatives. Seven grape varieties are allowed in the region: Blauer Portugieser, Blauer Spätburgunder, Huxelrebe, Müller-Thurgau, Phoenix, Ortega and Regent. Approximately two thirds of the production consists of red wine varieties. The 2008 statistics recorded rounded-off figures of each for Ortega, Phoenix and Regent, and less than 1 ha for the other four allowed varieties. The region is said to have 800 years of wine growing history, although presumably on a smaller scale most of this time, since professional viticulture in the region apparently dates from 1853. Documentation of a viticultural tradition was necessary in order to be defined as a