24 April 2013

Snooth PVA: Wines of Brasil

Over the years, I've had wines from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States (cue Yakko). And of the last, I've tried wines from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii. Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon. Tennessee, Texas. and Washington.

The point of this is not to brag (well, maybe a little), but more to show that I've got a pretty open mind when it comes to the wine regions of the world. Some of these have been more enjoyable than others, but overall I've had more pleasant surprises than unfortunate disappointments. And thus, I was particularly excited about the tasting hosted by Wines of Brasil.

Brazil is a relative newcomer on the international wine scene. The first Portuguese settlers were in the hot and humid north, a region that was terrible for wine grapes. Proper wine production didn't begin until the turn of the last century when Italian immigrants settled the cooler, drier southern regions like Campanha on the border with Uruguay. This is still a developing wine region: we tasted wines from the past seven vintages, and while nothing was spectacular, I think that there is some great potential. I've been tasting Chilean wines since the mid-90s and find them getting better and better each year. As the winemakers dial in the proper balance of grapes, soil, and style, and find the appropriate markets, I think they'll find a way to play to their strengths. In the meantime, an amusing anecdote...

I asked our host about how often Brazilian wines show up on the wine lists of fine dining restaurants in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. He chuckled and said, "When you are in one of those restaurants and see someone drinking Brazilian wine, that is a tourist. The Brazilians are only drinking European wines." Even with some growing interest in the beverage, the average Brazilian only consumes .33 litres of wine a year, and I've poured more than that into a single glass.

Check out these other great reviews of the same tasting! Wine Julia "#SnoothPVA: Wines of Brazil", My Vine Spot "#SnoothPVA: Brazilian Wines Master Class", Avvinare "Wine Countries: Brazil – Wines of Brazil Tasting At Snooth PVA", Wannabe Wino "What’s better than wine for breakfast?"

Note: This trip was provided by Snooth.

3 comments:

Felipe said...

Hi Benito. I am brazilian and I really like Tannat wines. This one you just mentioned is really good, as the 2005 one. But here comes a tip: try the Don Laurindo Reserva Tannat 10 anos if you ever see one in the US, a fact that I really think might be impossible, even here we just can't find it.
Additionaly, you should try the Uruguaian Tannat. Amazing too.

Cheers.
Felipe.

Unknown said...

Felipe,

Thanks for the input, and I'll keep those in mind. We don't really get these wines in my part of the country, but I will certainly be looking for them. I've never had a wine from Uruguay--I've always wanted to!

Cheers,
Benito

John said...

Great Post!


O gosto de Vinhos Kosher é muito surpreendente, eu gosto muito.