| |
Brazil's 600 producers and growers are concentrated in three provinces: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo. Over 65% of vineyards, and most producers, are in Rio Grande do Sul in the south. Inland there are many new and promising hillside vineyards in a triangular-shaped region defined by three cities: Bento Goncalves, Garibaldi and Caxias do Sul. On the prairie along the border with Uruguay, adventurous winemakers, led by Almaden (of California), are developing vinifera vineyards in and around Bage and Santana do Livramento.
Sao Paulo is the headquarters for more than 100 wine companies and their processing plants. To the south is Santa Catarina, where vineyards and winemaking styles reveal a German influence.
Many international wine companies have been attracted by Brazil's potential wine market. National Distillers established an outpost of Almaden in the 1970s. Heublein and Moet & Chandon have built large facilities; and Cinzano, Martini & Rossi and Remy Martin are also firmly ensconced here.
Brazil has recently been averaging 41 million cases of wine a year. A little more than 500,000 cases are exported, primarily to Japan and the USA. Brazil's best wine market in the long term may be its own.
|
|
|
|
