Hotel Irada
I’m seated in a dimly lit cellar, ringed by 130 French oak barrels, the air thick with the aroma of ageing wood and the tang of fermenting wine. Laid out in front of me is a platter of brie, crackers, and olives. Bottles of Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, and Cabernet are brought out one after the other, and I’m carefully guided through their colour and fragrance, notes that swing from fruity and floral to peppery and spicy. But I’m not wine-tasting in Bordeaux. I’m actually in infamous businessman Vijay Mallya's former private cellar, tucked inside a 66-acre wine estate just two hours from Pune.
It's quite an arrival too. Drive two hours past Pune towards Baramati, turn right, and you're on a stretch of green land, freshly rinsed by rain, with nothing in sight but grazing cows and goats. Drive a little further, and a turret comes into view. Then, a grand fountain and manicured lawns lead up to a theatrical manor with filigreed balconies, lion sculptures, and rolling vineyards. Go on, squint all you want. It’s still rural Maharashtra.
This was just one of Mr Mallya's many summer homes, I'm told. When he wanted a whiff of crisp air and a taste of some countryside wine, he'd fly in by chopper, landing straight on the helipad, which is still very much part of the property today. The original structure was built in 2008 by renowned architect Navzer Irani. It now belongs to the 31-year-old Kanpur-based hotelier Yash Malhotra, who, with design firm Humming Tree, has lovingly restored the spa
