Brazilian Wine Tours
It may surprise you, but Brazilian wine tours are an actual thing! The wine industry of this giant country has over 900 producers and is the third biggest wine producer in South America, after the well-known powerhouses of Argentina and Chile. But it’s a wine scene that is virtually unknown to most wine lovers. This is a new wine destination for us too and we are excited to be able to offer it to our clients after our recent two-week investigation visit.
Private Brazilian Wine Tours:
- Private guide and driver – offering flexibility in visits, lunches, tours and tastings
- Private winery tours and tastings – led by winery owners, winemakers, and sommeliers
- Get the inside track on unknown producers and where the best wine is found
- Lunches at wineries, pairing menu options, plus some fantastic local restaurants
- Visit the only cooperage in the south of Brazil and enjoy a full tour and tasting of spirits and wines
An estimated 15% of Brazilians come from Italian stock, plus many millions of others who are descendants of immigrants from important wine-making nations such as Portugal and Germany. The vast majority of these people settled in the south, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. For the immigrants who arrived with wine-making backgrounds, the trick was finding the best place to start doing it again on the other side of the planet. Many in the Brazilian wine world would say that place is Serra Gaucha.
Read Our Serra Gaucha Cooperage Blog here!
Anyone lucky enough to attend ProWine Sao Paulo knows that Brazil produces some superb wine, and is particularly good at making high-quality, traditional method sparkling. In truth, the standard of wine across all styles is high, and the quality of wine tourism infrastructure is second to none, even when compared with very mature markets such as France, Spain and Italy. With the high levels of investment in infrastructure over the last 10 years or so the Serra Gaucha region now provides a fantastic wine tourism experience.
Visiting Brazilian Wine Country
The two most southern states of the country, which border Uruguay and Argentina, look and feel like Piemonte or Tuscany. The Serra Gaucha wine region in the state of Rio Grande do Sul is the main centre of wine production for Brazil, home to many of the most important names in the industry, and excels in the level of wine tourism service. Hence, we feel that this region should serve as the main base for wine explorations. Some 5-hour drive away is an (even) less known wine region located near the sleepy town of Sao Joaquim in the state of Santa Catarina, called the Serra Catarinense. We can combine the two wine regions in one superb trip over several days, but if you only have 2 or 3 days then Serra Gaucha is where you should be and there are so many variations on Brazilian wine tours that you could spend weeks here, to be honest!
The Serra Gaucha wine region has the small city of Bento Goncalves at its heart and serves as the perfect base for exploring the region. You might choose to stay in a city hotel, taking advantage of the tourist attractions, restaurants, and bars in the centre. Or you could choose to stay in the countryside at a wide range of “Pousadas”, as some high-end guest houses and hotels are known in Portuguese. Either way, wineries are very closely concentrated around Bento Goncalves, meaning that wherever you stay you are only a short drive between dozens of wineries, restaurants and other attractions.
The Best Time to Visit
The climate in the south of Brazil is not what many people have in mind when they think of the country. Instead of micro-bikinis on Copacabana beach, think northern Italy. The best season to take a Brazilian wine tour is from October to March, with November to April being the absolute optimum time. It can rain at any time during the year in this region, and you can visit all year round and just accept that you will need a jacket from April/May to September.
Our Suggested Wineries – Ideal Day Trips
Normally on day tours, we will visit three wineries in one day, one of which would be a venue for lunch. One of the winery visits would be a full tour and tasting, then lunch at the second plus a third where we may just enjoy a tasting. Much depends on what each winery offers and below we have some of our favourites so far. Below is an example of an ideal day trip, and we will be adding many other options as we visit the region again:
Casa Valduga
This is one of Brazil’s powerhouses (producing over 2 million litres per year) and one of the most famous Brazilian wineries. You could spend all day at this winery, and we did! You might start by enjoying a tour of the impressive cellars, follow that with an extensive tasting of sparkling and still wines, and then, to cap it all off, sit down for one of many delicious lunch options. The guides here, such as Rapha, are superb and will steer you expertly through their wide range of wines.
With this being quite an extensive visit a few hours of visiting Valduga would likely be combined with just one other winery, making for a great day out. You can also stay on-site as they also have a lovely hotel, with rooms designed in several styles and views over the vines. A superb option to combine with Valduga is the next winery shown below:
Henrique Dal Castel
We love to show contrasts, and there is a massive difference in investment level, size and infrastructure between Valduga and this winery, hence we think it is a great combo. Henrique Dal Castel is a father and son set up, producing only a few thousand litres yearly and focusing on quality still wines. You can see Malka below, flanked by owners Ivair (father) and Henrique (son).
The winery is new, with its first vintage released in 2020, but the extended Carraro family has been in winemaking for generations. They are currently focusing on French varieties such as Tannat, Cab Sav and Merlot but are planning on introducing Italian grapes such as Rebo, Teroldego and Montepulciano very soon.
Many, many others….
There are so many other wineries in the region that it would be crazy to try to include them all here. Where you visit will depend on which sub-region we take you to. The wineries of Pizzato, Berkano, La Grande Bellezza, Geisse, Calza, Somacal, and Don Bernardo are already included in our portfolio, but there will be many others to come as there are so many close together in the Serra Gaucha. Whatever your style and preferences there is a Brazilian wine and winery for you.
Suggested Restaurants
Often our clients will eat at a winery but sometimes we will suggest eating at a restaurant that is not within a winery, It may be for the excellent food, venue, or maybe a tasting menu – or it could be that it fits with the itinerary that day. In any case, we will always make sure you are well fed, not only because it is one the great pleasures in life, but also because wine tasting should always be accompanied by food.
Below are four recommendations from places we ate at on our recent investigation trip
Highly recommended, and delicious. our clients taking Brazilian wine tours in the area in and around Monte Belo do Sul will be steered into eating at this lovely place. There are plenty of winery options in the area and also the cooperage so the whole day can be spent around this village. The pasta dishes and the Ossobuco alla Fiorentina are superb and we were told that people drive two hours or more to eat here, so you should too!
Very impressive venue at the winery itself, so this is ideal if you are taking a tour and tasting in the morning. They have several menu options including “sequences” of pastas and meat dishes, it might be considered a touch expensive but you will be very full.
Located within the grounds of the Don Giovanni winery, so another great option for before or after a tasting. This simple but elegant restaurant is managed by Chef Rafael Jacobi who speaks good English and has worked in various countries, honing his culinary skills.
You can see this lovely little place in the two photos above. We spent all day with the charming owners of La Grande Bellezza. Cristiana and Rossano have the vineyards in Pinto Bandeira and their Bistro in Caminhos da Pedra. You can enjoy a tour and tasting at the vineyard and then be driven a short distance to their bistro for a pairing menu, or choose a delicious dish from the “a la carte” menu. accompanied by great wine.
Feel free to ask us about how to combine a Brazilian wine tour with those in Argentina and Chile, just a short flight away!
