Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth-largest in the world. It has a sizable wine industry, but is probably best known in global markets for spirits, and in particular Cachaça.
With roughly 83,000 hectares (205,000 acres) of Vineyard">Vineyard, it ranks just behind its near-neighbors Argentina and Chile in terms of acreage under vine. Only a small proportion (about 10 percent) of these acres are planted with Vitis vinifera vines, however this large acreage does not translate into large volumes of quality wine.
There are concerted efforts underway to improve this ratio. Although not yet recognized on an international scale, the quality of Brazilian wines is increasing year on year.
Brazil's best-known wines are arguably its Sparkling whites. There are some Champagne method wines made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Many are made in a style similar to Italian spumante.
Despite spanning a Full 39 degrees of latitude (5°N to 34°S), this vast nation Lies largely outside the 'wine belt' (the band of latitudes in which effective viniculture 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 vineyard area.
Thus the vast majority of Brazilian wine comes from Brazil's southernmost regions, Campanha and particularly Serra Gaucha.
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 ...
That represents a 69% increase on the 5.5 million bottles sold in 2019, highlighting the exponential growth the industry has enjoyed in recent years. Brits account for 96% of the sales, but demand is increasing in export markets too. English and Welsh wines have proved particularly popular in Scandinavia, with exports to Norway rising by 85% year-on-year in 2021. In the UK, more than half of the sales are direct-to-consumer, either via the cellar door or a winery’s website. However, sales in sup ...
Establishing a vineyard isn’t something you just rush into these days. Identifying the right site, carrying out soil analysis, selecting suitable rootstocks and varieties, procuring equipment… We’ve made a lot of progress in the past 80 years. But perhaps we overthink such things. Some estates, such as Domaine Font de Courtedune, have grown organically, with major decisions often being made for practical, rather than stylistic, reasons. And the results, from Côtes-du-Rhône to Châteauneuf-du-Pape ...
