The presidential Republic of Brazil (Portuguese Brasil) in South America with the capital Brasilia covers 8,515,770 km². That is almost half of the subcontinent. It also includes a number of offshore islands in the Atlantic such as St Peter and St Paul's Rocks (lighthouses), the former convict colony of Fernando de Noronha, as well as Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all South American countries (with the exception of Chile and Ecuador). In an anti-clockwise direction, these are French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
The colonisation of this vast country began in the middle of the 16th century by the Portuguese, who planted the first vines in the Sao Paulo region in 1532. In 1626, the Jesuits arrived and planted Spanish vines in Grande do Sul. However, after the Jesuit missions were destroyed, viticulture was abandoned. The oenologist Auguste de St. Hilaire had already strongly recommended planting European grape varieties in the south on the border with Uruguay in 1800, but this was ignored for almost 200 years. Around 1840, the hybrid vine Isabella was introduced in the Rio Grande region.
Although this only produced simple wines, it was tolerant of the climate. Significant viticultural development did not take place again until 1875, when Italian immigrants brought their native vines with them. Due to the difficult climate, many grape varieties were experimented with, but it was not until after the First World War that vinifera varieties were introduced. Large international multinationals launched new initiatives from the 1970s onwards, including Bacardi-Martini, Cinzano, Heublein, Martini & Rossi, Moët et Chandon (Chandon Brazil winery), Domecq and Seagram.
In the meantime, there have been great improvements in viticulture and technology, which have led to internationally recognised sparkling, white and red wines. The football World Cup held in Brazil in June/July 2014 also contributed to this. The Lidio Carraro winery is the official supplier of the World Cup with its "Faces" line. The red wine is based on a football team made up of 11 grape varieties. Other well-known producers include Casa Valduga, Cooperativa Vinícola Aurora, Cooperativa Vinícola Garibaldi, Domno, Miolo, Pizzato, Salton, ViniBrasil, Vinícola Basso and Vinícola Perini.
Viticulture is mainly practised in the more temperate zones further away from the equator. The largest area, with around 70% of the vineyards, is the state of...
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Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)