Companhia Vinícola Rio-Grandense, 1951 Granja União Cabernet Franc
What's In My Glass
Brazil in Brief
I suspect that if I asked most wine professionals and wine enthusiasts, what they know about Brazilian wine, the answer would be nothing or very little. To catch you up, here are some quick stats:
Brazil is the 3rd largest wine producing country in South America
It is the 6th largest wine producer in the Southern Hemisphere
There are approximately 80,000ha under vine (compare that to Argentina with over 215K hectares, Chile with over 145K hectares, and 5990 hectares in Uruguay)
In 2020, approximately 5 million litres were exported to 76 countries
Brazil is the largest producer of sparkling wine in Latin America
To that last point, if you have had a Brazilian wine before or have at least heard of it, the subject of your knowledge is likely the country’s quality sparkling wines.
Italian Roots, French Grapes
Brazil’s history of sparkling wine production can be traced back to the late 1880s. While Brazil’s history as a wine producing country begins with the Portuguese colonialists …