BRAZIL’S BEST WINE ROUTES
Brazil may be best known for its glamorous beaches, world-famous carnival and seductive samba, but it has also been gradually carving out its identity as a wine country. The first vineyards were planted in the mid-1550s, but it wasn’t until the late 1800s that Brazil’s first major wine region surfaced – in the deep forests of its southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, and particularly in the highlands of Serra Gaúcha. Although this region still reigns supreme, with the lion’s share of the industry, there are exciting new high-altitude wine regions emerging further north. Here, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais and São Paulo are luring wine lovers over to less-trodden wine routes. Brazil’s southern interior is ripe for exploration, ready to reveal its fascinating history and promising future as the third-largest wine producer in South America.
