Get to know the Brazilian wine tourism offer

Brazil is synonymous with sun and sand, but not always: with cool weather and good weather, the Serra Gaúcha offers the chance to explore one of the most fertile regions of the country, bucolic mountain landscapes and mighty rivers that bathe the vineyards. 

Although Brazil is not on the list of major wine consumers in the world, it has extensive production and an attractive circuit for tasting it in established circuits for ecotourism.

One of the most outstanding regions (and unknown outside the country) is the San Francisco Valley, drained by the San Francisco River and its tributaries, which extends through the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Sergipe and Alagoas. Region of extensive production of fruits and vegetables, its gateway is Petrolina (Pernambuco), which together with the city of Juazeiro concentrates the production of local wines. It is an area with a tropical semi-arid climate that is unique in Brazil, which has mild temperatures throughout the year, which allows the vineyards to produce more than two harvests per year.  

The region produces the so-called tropical wines, with originality and regional identity, as well as sparkling wines and spirits. There, in addition to wine and gastronomy tours, there are various options for immersion in nature. One of them is the route to the islands of the river -the largest are Massangano and Rodadouro- with clear waters and white sand. As a curiosity, it is worth visiting the Bodódromo, a gastronomic complex where goat meat is a very exotic delicacy and is served in different ways, as well as lamb and its garnishes, such as beans, rice and cassava, a must in typical food northeast.  

About two thousand kilometers from Mendoza, in Rio Grande do Sul, is the heart of the Valley of the Vineyards, the region that concentrates the production of wine and grape juice in southern Brazil. During the first quarter of the year, the wineries celebrate the harvesting of the grapes, an event that has special celebrations on the agenda that offer visitors refined gastronomy with regional products, tastings and an immersion in the only area of ​​Brazil whose wines have denomination of origin (DO), internationally certified.

Most of the grape harvest celebrations are concentrated in the city of Bento Gonçalves, 122 km from the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre. Founded in the 19th century by Italian immigrants, it is considered the epicenter of wine production in southern Brazil and one of the main exponents of European culture in the region.

The cities best known for their wine production in Serra Gaúcha are Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi, Flores da Cunha and Monte Belo do Sul, and among the well-known wineries are Casa Valduga, Cainelli, Luis Argenta, Casa Adesso, Casa Perini, Vinícola Larentis, Videiras Carraro, Cave do Sol and Vinícola Garibaldi, so it is worth investigating what each one offers when it comes to receiving visitors.

For the trip through the Valley of the Vineyards, there is the option of an itinerant walk (sleeping every night in a different place) or that of establishing a base in a city and, from there, taking walks during the day, since the cities are very close to each other. The most central one is Bento Gonçalves, but Garibaldi is next door, so it can be a second option for those who want to settle in a single accommodation with the option of going and coming back.

An interesting alternative -after the binge- is the Wine Spa, the only one in South America that practices wine therapy, a group of therapies from the French brand Caudalie, which for three decades has sponsored studies at the University of Bordeaux on the effects of the grape on the skin. The place is paradisiacal and is located in the heart of the Valley of the Vineyards, in Bento Gonçalves.