1. Withthe WorldCupverymuch here,the obscure and adolescent Brazilian wine industry has hopes
of using the event as a platform to catapult its profile. The region has had a number of historic
influences,predominantly Portugal and Northern Italy, but despite this they have inherited a very
French attitude to wine. Most of the grapes grown here are traditional French varieties, such as
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay, and they often try to approximate the traditional
French styles.
In particular,sparklingwinesseemtohave thrived here. Despite the population here generally not
beingall thatinterestedinwine,favouringdrinkswhichcanbe chilledeasilysuchaspilsners orsome
spirits,butthe demandfor sparkling wine here is far in excess of what you would expect given the
popularity of wine. It is perhaps because of this that Moët & Chandon, (the largest Champagne
house in France), decided to invest heavily in the Brazilian wine industry from the seventies
onwards. Thisbegana revitalisationof theirwine,whichwhile it started slowly, is beginning to pick
up its pace.
Brazil’s vineyards are the closer to the equator than any other vineyards in the world. This means
that the heatdominatesviticulture here more than anything else. Most of Brazil’s grapes can ripen
veryfully andveryfrequentlythe growersare rewardedwithtwofull harvestsevery year due to the
intensityof the heat. Thisusually results in a comparatively sweet and fruity wine with little in the
wayof acidity. The climate here isalsoveryconsistent,meaning the quality of the wine tends to be
very consistent too. It is interesting to note that 2002, the last year in which Brazil won the world
cup, turned out to be quite a good year for their wine too. Hopefully this good luck will extend to
2014, obviously another significant year for Brazilian football.
The vineyards at Rio Sol are arguably the most northern in all of Brazil, which would make these
vineyardsthe closestinthe world to the equator at a latitude of 8° south. This means it is hot here,
very hot, and the grapes grown here tend to mature to a fat, juicy ripeness. Their Chenin
Blanc/Viognierblenddisplays all the advantages of this intense ripening, as the result is a soft, full
bodied and fruit driven white, with plenty of pineapple and melon with some nice acidity on the
finish. It is quite solid.
The same can be saidof theirred,a somewhatunorthodox blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
Again, we have a soft, full bodied style, with the Cabernet providing plenty of dark red fruit in the
formof plumand cassis while the Syrah adds a lovely hint of spice to the combination. The body is
also again round and soft, another advantage of allowing a harvest to reach complete ripeness.