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
Wine Country (California) Tourists come to the region not only for wine tasting, but also for hiking, bicycling, hot air ballooning, and historic sites, as well as the extensive culinary choices. Numerous notable chefs and restaurateurs are present in the Wine Country, including Thomas Keller, John Ash, and Sondra Bernstein. Besides the obvious winery attractions, the Wine Country is known for the Sonoma County coastline along the Pacific Ocean, the Russian River valley, redwoods, hot spring baths, petrified forests and other natural areas. The Wine Country tourism boom has its downside, exemplified by traffic congestion on State Route 29, particularly on summer weekends,