Murlidhar R Dharmadhikari Obituary

Murli Dharmadhikari passed away peacefully on February 14, 2024 in Norwalk, Connecticut due to complications from dementia.

He was born in 1943 in Multai, India as one of seven children, and only son, to Radhakrishna and Chandraprabha Dharmadhikari (née Shanta Deshmukh). His early years were spent there and in nearby Betul before attending college at Vikram University in Ujjain and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi. He then moved to the United States in 1967 to pursue graduate studies at Ohio State University, earning a Ph.D in horticulture.

Upon graduation, Murli began a decades long professional career in the grape and wine industry. This work would lead Murli to share his passion, knowledge, and joy of wine with his friends and family. For nearly 10 years, he worked as a winemaker at the Golden Rain Tree Winery in St. Wendel, Indiana. Two of Murli's wines, Shanti (a white) and Spirit of '76 (a red) won a gold medal at the Wineries Unlimited competition in Lancaster, PA. Murli then transitioned to academia by first working as an enologist advisor for Missouri State University. Among his writings there, he co-authored a book on wine making techniques entitled Micro Vinification. Later, he served as the Director of the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry program at Iowa State University. In both roles, he worked directly with wineries in the American Mid-west to promote and develop the wine industry in the region.

Murli is survived by his wife Radha, sons Amiya and Aakash, and granddaughter Rachel Charu. He also leaves behind many friends here and around the world who remember him for his generosity, warmth, and humor.