I’ve visited a few vineyards in the past, however, never stayed at one overnight so I was quite happy to see good reviews about Fratelli just in time when I was planning a quick getaway with my wife. Fratelli was free on 1st June so quickly confirmed the booking and headed there. Here’s my experience –
Booking – straight forward and smooth as one would expect. Called on the number given, was given the next available dates and a quick summary of what to expect (nothing different from what is already mentioned on the offer image). Sent an email, received a confirmation within a few hours and was asked to make the payment on arrival at the vineyard.
Road – from Kothrud or west Pune, easiest road is via Pune-Bengaluru highway, turning left towards Phaltan (Pandharpur road). It’s approx. 170 kms and took me just about 3 hours to get there. I started at 7 am assuming it would take about 3.5-4 hours but the road is quite good so you’ll get there quicker. Google maps is your best friend here. Do download offline map of the route as there is no/poor network in some stretches.
Pro-tip: a 20 km stretch from the Pune-Bengaluru highway (once you turn left) is in slightly bad shape. As an alternative, you could drive down further on the highway and turn left at Khandala. The road is better and will get you there even faster.
First Impressions/Stay – they’re well organized and security team has your details ready a day before. A very simple thing but a stay that starts off well, always ends up well. A very clean, well maintained facility awaits you. Enough parking space for 10+ cars (with covered parking for 3 cars).
Once we parked, there was no one to guide us where the rooms/living area was so it took us a few minutes to figure out we had to climb up to the upper level. There we were greeted by Amol who showed us to our room. Beautiful, large rooms with all the amenities for a comfortable stay were just perfect. The common area was super-sized with a large seating area, TV, 2 dining areas, a pool table and enough large windows to give you great views of the vineyard adjoining the property. As it turned out, there were no other bookings on that day so we got all the attention from the entire staff there 
😊
Food – fantastic! The deal covers 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, evening snacks, sides for wine and tea/coffee which is customized, prepared with local produce and style and makes you feel like home. Bottled water (our fav topic on PEO) is also included in the deal and you don’t have to pay extra for it. We had chicken masala for lunch, mutton curry for dinner and chicken kheema and chicken curry for lunch the next day with some veggies, dal on the side. Everything was delicious!
Vineyard – their vineyard is divided in 2 parts – about 80 acres next to the winery and 150 acres a few kms away. There’s an open jeep (beware of no-power steering if you’re attempting to drive) at your disposal to drive through the adjoining vineyard. You can drive yourself or request their staff to help you. Roads are decent so you can take your car as well. Evenings are best time to do this drive through. See the photographs for the views!
Winery – tour was not up to the mark. It was planned late evening and most staff were done for the day. I would’ve expected someone with more knowledge about the whole process to run us through. This tour should ideally be at the core of this visit but it wasn’t so. If you’ve visited other wineries before, you’ll be fine. If it’s your first time, you’ll be disappointed.
Wine/Wine-tasting – there’s a wine tasting session right after the winery tour. You can choose up to 5 wines from their range for this session. This session was quite interactive, fun and setup the right mood for the rest of the evening. The bottles are left for you to finish off (included in the deal). There’s a lovely lawn with barbecue setup but with just 2 of us, we chose to sit on the huge lawn that runs from the upper level till the gate gazing at the beautiful landscape in front of us. Cheese, crackers are served every time you pick up a glass of wine – nice touch indeed!
All wines are available to purchase at a 20-25% discount to consume on site or take away.
Lunch Picnic – this has to be the highlight of the getaway for sure! Next morning, after breakfast and chilling for a while, we were taken to the other vineyard site, about 10 kms away. Fratelli has setup a quaint picnic spot between the 150 acres of vineyard perched on top of a small hill. We couldn’t stop smiling while sipping wine and eating packed lunch with unmatched views (it’ll only get better when it rains).
It has been one of the best 24 hours I’ve spent in some time now and the experience will stay with me for years to come. It was ₹5200 for 2 people (all inclusive) on a weekday, which was definitely a steal, however now 28% GST is applicable on the base price of ₹5000. Note that this special price is only available for members of Pune Eat Outs, while everyone else pays a slightly higher price.
With only 4 rooms available at the site, exclusivity and peace is maintained (unlike some other vineyards). Their staff is super courteous and complete the overall experience for you.
Contact – pallavipaul@fratelliwines.in | +91-995-888-0577
Location – https://goo.gl/maps/JiMUtHFCKN92
thedarkrebel.com 