The Vale do São Francisco ("Valley of Saint Francis") is a river valley in the state of Bahia, eastern Brazil. The most remarkable thing about the valley as a wine region is its equatorial latitude, just 9°S. This places it only 1000 kilometers (625 miles) South of the Equator, and 2400km (1500 miles) North of Brazil's core winelands in Rio Grande do Sul. The Climate here is classified as semi-arid tropical.
It is hot and Dry, with just 600 millimeters (24 inches) of rain per year.
At first glance, the Vale do São Francisco seems to entirely disprove the idea of the "wine belt", the band of latitudes in which effective viniculture is thought practicable. In the southern hemisphere, the wine belt encircles the globe between 30°S and 45°S. But in fact it is more of an exception that proves the rule; the Vines are entirely reliant on irrigation from the São Francisco River, and their productivity cycles are dependent on human intervention rather than natural seasonal influences.
It can hardly be said that this is a "natural" place to grow Grapes and make wine.
The grapes grown in this tropical environment are rarely, if ever, of fine-wine quality. But what they lack in quality they make up for in quantity; many vineyards here produce two annual vintages rather than one. Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon lead the red wine grape varieties, and Muscat is also cultivated here, often to make Sparkling wines.
The Sotheby’s New York sale of Bourbon and Rye Whiskey, held at the weekend, combined two significant collections of American whiskey, with almost 100% of lots sold and 75% of them selling for above their pre-sale high estimates. The top spot for the most expensive lot in the auction went to a bottle of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 Year Old Barrell #4, which sold for $43,750, double its pre-sale high estimate and making it the joint most valuable bottle of rye whiskey ever sold at auction. The sum w ...
All 818 lots were sold in the auction, which saw Prince Robert of Luxembourg, chairman and CEO of Château Haut-Brion owner Domaine Clarence Dillon, open up his personal cellar to raise funds for the PolG Foundation. Featuring 4,200 bottles and covering Bordeaux wine royalty spanning more than a century of vintages, Sotheby’s said the auction ‘smashed’ its pre-sale high estimate of around $4m. Two 4.5-litre Jeroboams of Haut-Brion, one from the 1926 vintage and the other from 1 ...
Artémis Domaines has taken a minority stake in the capital of Jacquesson in Champagne, the groups said in a statement this week. Financial details weren’t disclosed. The partnership marks a new departure for Artémis, owned by the Pinault family. Alongside Château Latour, the group’s portfolio already includes Eisele Vineyard estate in Napa Valley, Clos de Tart in Burgundy and Château-Grillet in the Rhône. Maison Jacquesson traces its history back to 1798 and has been owned by the Chiquet family ...
