Top 100 red wines of Brazil - Page 3

Discovering the wine region of Brazil

With about 83,000 hectares of Vineyard">Vineyards, it ranks just behind its close neighbours, Argentina and Chile, in terms of cultivated area. Only a small portion (about 10%) of these hectares are planted with Vitis vinifera vines, but this large area does not translate into large volumes of quality wine. Concerted efforts are underway to improve this ratio. Although not yet recognized internationally, the quality of Brazilian wines is increasing year by year.

The best known Brazilian wines are probably the Sparkling white wines. There are a few wines made in the méthode champenoise from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Many are made in a style similar to Italian spumante. Although it spans 39 degrees of latitude (5°N to 34°S), this vast country Lies largely outside the "wine belt" (the band of latitude where effective viticulture is traditionally thought possible).

The Southern hemisphere wine belt encircles the globe between 30°S and 45°S, leaving very little room for Brazil to develop its wine growing area. Thus, the vast majority of Brazilian wine comes from the southernmost regions of Brazil, the Campanha and in particular the Serra Gaucha. The latter is home to the capital of Brazilian sparkling wine, Bento Gonçalves. Further North, the state of Bahia is home to the arid and flat Vale do São Francisco.