Serra Gaúcha is a Brazilian wine region in the Southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, where Brazil meets Uruguay. Its name is apt: the landscape here is characterized by low mountain ranges (serras) and populated by gaúchos, the cowboys of the Brazilian Pampas.
Small landholdings of just a few hectares are the norm in Serra Gacúha, which makes co-operative winemaking almost a necessity. The cost of buying and maintaining winemaking equipment is considerable, so local vignerons pool their resources and invest in shared, co-operative wineries.
It was through similar collaborative efforts that a group of Serra Gaúcha winemakers successfully campaigned for the creation of Vale do Vinhedos DO, Brazil's first wine appellation. With the infamous Bento Goncalves at the heart, Serra Gaúcha is considered the wine capital region of Brazil and is responsible for 80 percent of the entire country's production of wine.
Serra Gaúcha's Terroir is characterized by the region's altitude and latitude, while the local culture is tangibly influenced by the immigrant populations from Germany and Italy. Porto Alegre is the state capital and is, as its name impLies, a harbor town.
It lies at the eastern edge of the Serra Gaúcha winelands, and from there the land rises from sea level to more than 2,500 feet (760m) at Caixas do Sul, the state's second city and local wine capital. The altitude and mountainous topography here are vital to the area's suitability for viticulture, providing cooling temperatures to create a longer growing season and higher acid retention. Soil type of the region is also attributed to the altitude with viticulture predominantly found planted in pockets of volcanic basalt that is high in nutrients.
The local cuisine and architecture show significant Italian influences, and Italy is largely to thank for the birth of effective viticulture here in the late 19th Century.
White muscat is a white grape variety of Greek origin. Present in several Mediterranean vineyards, it has several synonyms such as muscat de Die, muscat blanc and frontignac. In France, it occupies a little less than 7,000 ha out of a total of 45,000 ha worldwide. Its young shoots are downy. Its youngest leaves are shiny, bronzed and scabrous. The berries and bunches of this variety are all medium-sized. The flesh of the berries is juicy, sweet and firm. Muscat à petits grains has a second ripening period and buds early in the year. It is moderately vigorous and must be pruned short. It likes poor, stony slopes. This variety is often exposed to spring frosts. It fears mildew, wasps, grape worms, court-noué, grey rot and powdery mildew. Muscat à petits grains is used to make rosé wines and dry white wines. Orange, brown sugar, barley sugar and raisins are the known aromas of these wines.
There’s a reason why heavily-applied perfume ranks highly on most wine lovers’ list of pet peeves. It overpowers your senses, conceals aromas and distorts your perception of a wine. In professional tastings and wine exams the wearing of perfume is banned, if not thoroughly frowned upon. You just don’t do it. What then, if we applied the same logic to music, controlling the sounds we hear, or don’t hear, while tasting wine? There’s no doubt that a chaotic environment can clog your synapses, makin ...
Some Cornas estates, like Domaine Clape, feel as ancient and unchanging as the granite hills themselves. Others, like Domaine Alain Voge, go through periods of flux. When this is due to vineyards being ripped out, bought or sold, then the whole profile of an estate can be altered. That’s not the case at Voge. Instead, it’s due to the coming and going of people and the unavoidable change that entails. I visited Lionel Fraisse, the current managing director at Domaine Alain Voge, to taste a select ...
Brad Pitt and Emmy Award-winning French producer Damien Quintard have worked together to revamp and redesign the Château Miraval recording studio, which has sat unused for nearly two decades. Renamed Miraval Studios, the venue will reopen in the heart of Provence rosé wine country in summer 2022. It marks a rebirth for the illustrious venue, previously known as Studio Miraval, which was built in 1977 by the estate’s then-owner, French pianist and composer Jacques Loussier. Pink Floyd used the st ...
