Cave Geisse is unique among our suppliers in that its owner, Mario Geisse, is Chilean. Back in 1976 he left his native country, where he had been Master Winemaker at the Casa Silva winery, to manage Moet & Chandon’s Brazilian operations. Then in 1979 he left to set up his own business, which he had always intended would produce sparkling wines.
After spending several years exploring potential sites for his vineyard, Mario ended up in a wonderfully scenic area known as Pinto Bandeira in the Vinhos de Montanha ( ‘Wine Mountains’ ), to the south of Bento Gonçalves. The site sits at an average 800m altitude, is well drained and enjoys plenty of sun – in other words, near perfect for small scale sparkling wine production.
Mario Geisse and his son Daniel focus on producing just two, noble grape varieties: pinot noir and chardonnay. This disciplined approach, coupled with a refusal to chase volume production, are characteristic of their quality-driven business.
Another interesting aspect of the company is its employment practices. Rather than hire an individual worker, they employ his or her whole family. Geisse builds a house specifically for each family, at no cost to them, but in return is rewarded with that family’s labour in and around the vineyard.
Geisse’s small scale is reflected in its modest export sales, to date. However, Go Brazil believes it is fortunate to have secured an agreement wth the family for importation rights into the UK and Ireland. Indeed, our confidence in Cave Geisse products seems to be well placed: the USA Wine Enthusiast magazine commented in November 2010 ‘ ..the finest producer of sparkling wines in the region, hands down, is Cave Geisse ‘. It continued: ‘ ..Brut, Natural and Rose Cave Geisse would all score in the 90s on any critic’s score card..’
Latest News August 2011: Wines just arrived!
Go Brazil is delighted to confirm that we are stocking the range-topping Cave Geisse Nature Terroir 2006 and Cave Geisse Brut Rose 2006. In addition we have taken delivery of two sparkling wines from Geisse’s second, ‘Amadeu’-branded line: an attractively priced brut and brut rose methode champenoise from the 2009 vintage. See tasting notes for all wines below.
Visit the winery website: www.cavegeisse.com.br
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