"Before wine: fruit, water, sun, man, seed... And at the origin of everything as a generous and wise mother, the EARTH."
Since the beginning, the quality of the wines in South of Brazil has been the result of:
the wisdom and work of the growers
the privileged land
an ideal agroclimatic conditions for growing grapes
the currently the use of technological innovation
Experience linked to culture, lifestyle, history, including the concept of hedonism to passion, emotion and other meanings that are so personal and so close to the heart for each people from that region.
For more that 05 centuries, Brazilian viticulture has perpetuated in the country a history of persistence, strength, and resilience. It began in the 16th century when Martim Afonso de Souza brought the first Vitis vinífera vine on his colonizing expedition to Brazil.
However, it was with the arrival of Italian immigration to the South, in the mid-nineteenth century, establishing its culture and economic development, which turned the region into one of the most traditional and impactful wine regions in the country.
With continental dimensions, located between the 30th and 50th parallels of the Southern Hemisphere, Brazil has 03 macro-regions with own specific characteristics in terms of agroclimatic conditions, making them unique in the viticulture.
Regions with a temperate and humid subtropical climate (South and Southeastern), passing through the semi-arid tropical climate (Northeast), reaching regions with an altitude climate ranging from subtropical to tropical, whose vineyards are located between 900 and 1400 meters above sea level, called winter wines.
The state of Rio Grande do Sul has been structured by Indications of Provenance (IP) since 1995 by EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), being recognized in 2022. In 2020, 07 Geographical Indications (GIs) had already been registered, among them:
Vale dos Vinhedos – IP 2002 e DO 2012 (Bento Gonçalves),
Altos Flores da Cunha and Nova Pádua – IP 2012 (Altos Montes),
Pinto Bandeira – IP 2010,
Farroupilha – IG 2015,
Monte Belo do Sul – IP 2013 (Monte Belo)
Campanha Gaúcha – IP 2020
Altos de Pinto Bandeira – DO 2022 to sparkling wines
On the other hand, altitude viticulture in Santa Catarina began in the 1990s. Reaching its Structuring Geographical Indication in June 2020, covering 29 municipalities equivalent to 20% of Santa Catarina territory with300 hectares of cultivated area. There are 03 regions producing fine altitude wines:
Campos Novos e Monte Carlo (Campos Novos),
Caçador, Água Doce, Salto Veloso, Treze Tilias, Videira e Tanguará (Caçador)
São Joaquim, Urupema, Urubici, Bom Retiro, Painel e Campo Belo do Sul (São Joaquim)
Another important aspect is that Santa Catarina winegrowers, who has invested in the production of fine altitude wines come from different sectors, such as textiles, ceramics, stockbreeding, or even health professionals with personal interests, sometimes related to family history. What this fact shows us is that the act of making wine is entwined heavily with the philosophy of the person doing it, to the environmental characteristics and reputation of the producing regions.
These cultivation areas, far from the 30th and 50th parallels, have excellent terroir and microclimate - including soil, topography, climate, landscape characteristics and biodiversity - typical of the altitude regions helping in the biosynthesis of aromas and pigments, preserving the acidity as well as giving structure and body to the wines, expressing all the genetics of each grape variety. Factors that contribuite to the achievement of certifications.
The terroir is linked to an area, to the collective knowledge and particularity of the skills and traditional cultures of the vignerons. This environmental interaction between physical and biological identity, applied to viticulture practices, drives the improvement of the different characteristics of the final product.
In addition, we have to rely on the vision and sensitivity of winemakers regarding the choice of yeast and inputs, the choice of barrel to used, timing, types of corks and bottling, and the professionals from related areas, bringing scientific knowledge and technological innovation to the entire production chain of the process, as well as helping the strategic commercial management employed in the vineyards and in the commercial marketing sector on the Internet.
We can also mention that the relentless search for knowledge, as well as the sensitivity to the needs for change, has revealed a crucial factor in the correct management of natural resources found by winegrowers, vignerons, distributors, and all other areas involved in the process, to express the flavor and tipicity of the region's wines. Making possible the achievement of Geographical Indications (GIs) to various growers, as well as motivating other Brazilian regions look for the same objectives.
Above all, the most important thing is the adoption of the delimitation and management of wine production, as well as a meticulous methodology from the beginning conducted in the region, making the dynamic management of the GIs been recognized by the competent organizations. As a result, a wine with significant impact on its visibility and credibility in the national and foreign markets.
LINK: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/grapevines-from-southern-brazil-maria-amaral
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