Mistress of Wine, Uma Chigurupati wears many hats with equal poise & grace

Clad in a chic white shirt and matching pants, Uma Chigurupati stands beside her husband, Krishna at KRSMA vineyard in Hampi. A group of wine experts has flown in from different parts of India and the world. Uma, as she prefers to be known, is explaining the winemaking process to them. She speaks with ease and confidence about the selection and barrel-aging of the grapes and how she likes “fruit forward” wines. Uma and Krishna are gracious hosts and lead their guests through the property in the middle of the rolling hills. The pièce de résistance is a vertical tasting of all their vintages. The fruit-forward 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is a favourite of Uma’s, while Krishna likes the more restrained and oak-driven 2012. “Sure, we have wine consultants,” says Uma. “But at the end of the day, we make wines that we like.”