Brazil is the fifth largest producer of wine in the southern hemisphere, with an industry based principally in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s most southerly state, which shares a border with both Argentina and Uruguay. Around the city of Bento Gonçalves and in the picturesque nearby Vale dos Vinhedos (‘valley of the vineyards’) dozens of wineries are headquartered, and it is in this region that around 75% of Brazil’s fine wines – defined locally as being from vitis vinifera vines – are produced.
It is difficult to be precise but there are at least 1300 commercial grape producers in Rio Grande do Sul and neighbouring Santa Catarina state. The market is dominated by a small number of large scale cooperatives and some very well established privately-owned wineries, while the remaining 80-90% are significantly smaller, mainly family-run businesses. Only a modest number of wineries (<50) are actively engaged in exports but, of these, many have ongoing business in the major markets of the USA, UK, EU, South America and China.
Many wineries have a long and proud Italian heritage, and it is not uncommon for fifth or even sixth generation family members to be involved in these businesses. However, reflecting the region’s mixed European ancestry, some wineries are run by Brazilians whose descendants are from Germany or Hungary, for example. To add to this complex ethnic picture, there are also some Japanese-Brazilian wine-makers, including one of our (now ex-) suppliers, Sanjo.
As well as wine production, a growing number of wineries have expanded their operations to include hospitality and ‘oeno-tourism’, so vineyard hotels, restaurants and visitor centres are now widespread and usually of very good quality. For the serious wine enthusiast, Go Brazil can recommend specialist travel agencies who will take clients to visit the key wineries, meet the wine-makers, enjoy wine and food pairings, and stay in luxury accommodation. Side-trips to Rio de Janeiro, the Pantanal wetlands and the majestic Foz de Iguaçu waterfalls can also be organised.
Geography & Topography
Best to forget the glossy brochures advertising endless sun-kissed beaches! The south of Brazil is green, very hilly – mountainous in parts – and at times can get very cold. Rain and hail are common here during the winter, so vineyard location, soil type, drainage and vine protection are all factors which wine producers must consider. The lush, undulating landscape is however very scenic, reminiscent perhaps of Tuscany or the foothills of the Austrian Tyrol and, for tourists, is best enjoyed during spring (September-November) or autumn (March-May).
Vineyards typically are located at 500-600m in and around the Vale dos Vinhedos, in the Serra Gaúcha hills, while further south and west towards the borders with Uruguay and Argentina, altitude drops considerably to around 150m on average. In the more northerly state of Santa Catarina, many of the vineyards lie at above 1,000m, with some as high as 1,400m. Most of these are sited at least 80km inland, so do not enjoy any maritime influence. The latitude covering these main wine-producing areas runs from around 29° to 32° and there are four distinct seasons, albeit with longer and hotter summers at the southern end of this band.
Soil types vary from the predominantly gravel and clay over basaltic rock in the Serra Gaúcha, to limestone or granite in the most southerly Campanha Gaúcha region.
The Lesser-Known Regions
While the Serra Gaúcha remains very much the centre of Brazil’s wine production, all of the favoured vineyard sites there have long since been taken. With growing urbanisation also reducing the amount of land available, winemakers have started to purchase plots in the extreme south and southwest of the country, bordering Uruguay and Argentina respectively. Known previously as ‘Fronteira’ but now by the local wine trade as ‘Campanha Gaúcha’, this remote area extends for hundreds of miles and is known principally as sheep and cattle-raising country, although rice production is also important. Mainly limestone soils and a warm breeze make for good drainage, while a long ripening period ensures good fruit and sugar concentrations.
Notable too are the ‘Vinhos de Altitude’ wines, produced by a group of wineries from the interior of Santa Catarina state, whose vineyards all lie above 1,000m. Some of these are still young businesses but have great potential, especially for white wines, and we can expect some exciting developments from them in the coming years.
Even more recent on the wine-making scene is the more northerly state of São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous and wealthy which, at first glance, is not an obvious candidate for wine production given its location on the Tropic of Capricorn. However, winemakers there have devised an innovative double-pruning technique that delays their harvest by several months, meaning that grapes can be picked in the cool and dry winter months of July/August rather than in February/March, when it would otherwise be too hot and/or wet. The Guaspari winery, located at 900-1,300m on the site of an old coffee plantation, employs this unusual system and the resulting wines – some of which Go Brazil import – are of very high quality.
To the east of the state of São Paulo, and joined by the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range, lie the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. Most of the wine-making here is also very recent, dating back no longer than 10 years, but the initial results have been extremely promising. A winter harvest is again practised and we at Go Brazil have tried local samples of Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc, among other grape varieties. All great quality – so watch this space!
In complete contrast, 2,000kms away in the northeast of Brazil, there are a series of vineyards which produce at least two harvests p.a. Irrigated by the waters of the nearby River São Francisco, and situated only 8-9° below the Equator, vines here grow freely and crop on a continuous basis (known as a ‘constant vegetative cycle’). While many of the grapes grown in the region are destined for table consumption, the wines produced are of a steady, reasonable quality. Read more below about the Rio Sol brand, which originates in this region.
In conclusion, currently in 2024 vineyards are planted in 13 of Brazil’s 26 states and within the country three different types of harvest are practised: in late summer/early autumn (Jan-March, far south); in winter (late July/early August, middle of country) and at least twice annually (in northeast state of Pernambuco).
Wineries in Brief
Founded in 1875, Casa Valduga can lay claim to be one of the oldest wine-making houses in Brazil. Still a family concern after six generations, the company now occupies a huge site in the stunning Vale dos Vinhedos (‘Valley of the Vineyards’). With the added attraction of two restaurants and upmarket guest accommodation, Valduga is deservedly one of the most visited of all the vineyards in the region.
Familia Geisse
Familia Geisse, also known as ‘Cave Geisse’, is unique among our suppliers in that its owner, Mario Geisse, is Chilean. Mario moved from his native country in the early 1970s to manage Moët & Chandon’s Brazilian operations at a time when the French Champagne house was exploring new terroirs. In 1979 he left to establish his own business, with the intention of producing sparkling wines. Indeed, since then, he, his business partner and family focus solely on the production of Traditional Method sparkling wines.
Geisse’s wines have received worldwide acclaim, not least from Jancis Robinson MW OBE, Decanter magazine and many others. In 2023, after 10 years of campaigning, their local area of Pinto Bandeira was awarded DO (Denominação de Origem) status – the first and only DO in the southern hemisphere awarded exclusively for sparkling wines!
Lidio Carraro
Anyone looking for distinctive South American wines will be interested in those produced by Lidio Carraro. Although still quite a young business (founded in 1998), the Lidio Carraro family has been growing grapes for four generations. Their current plantings are located both in the Vale dos Vinhedos and also in the Terras do Encruzilhada do Sul, part of the more southerly Serra do Sudeste region.
Miolo
The Miolo Wine Group is one of the largest players in the Brazil wine industry, boasting a share of around 40% in the domestic fine wine market and Brazil’s largest wine exporter by value. The company, which is headquartered in the picturesque Vale dos Vinhedos near Bento Gonçalves, is also involved in a number of joint ventures outside Brazil, including in Chile, Spain, Italy and France.
It is perhaps not surprising that Miolo and its subsidiaries farm the greatest amount of land under vines in Brazil, in excess of 1,250 hectares, and produce >12m litres of fine wine (defined locally as coming from vitis vinifera vines) under more than 100 different labels.
Pizzato/Fausto
This is a highly regarded family-run winery located in the Vale dos Vinhedos, the ‘Valley of the Vineyards’ that lies just outside Bento Gonçalves, where Italian immigrants first planted their vines back in the 1870s.
Indeed, typifying this wave of immigration, the Pizzato family originate from northeast Italy and can trace their origins in Brazil back to 1879. Nowadays, it is respected head winemaker Flávio Pizzato who runs the business. His expertise is perhaps best appreciated in his barrel-aged reds wines, especially the Merlots, nonetheless he has an outstanding range also covering sparkling, white and rosé.
Rio Sol
Rio Sol (‘River Sun’) is one just one many brands owned by the Portuguese wine conglomerate, Sogrape. The wine produced here comes from vineyards lying, remarkably, at just 8° south of the Equator, on the border of the states of Bahia and Pernambuco in northeast Brazil. These predominantly flat, arid vineyards border the river São Francisco, downstream from the man-made Sobradinho lake, and form part of a much larger irrigation project which focuses on commercial fruit production.
Vinícola Aurora
Said to be the largest producer of Brazilian wine by volume, Aurora is a co-operative which relies on more than 1100 small scale producer-members to supply in approx. 50m kgs of grapes annually. In 2023 the company moved its HQ from the centre of Bento Gonçalves, the town situated at the heart of the Serra Gaúcha wine-growing region, to a brand new facility at the entrance to the nearby Vale dos Vinhedos.