A region that has been producing wines for over 150 years, but was not recognized for that, appears on the national scene with prominence. The Campanha Gaúcha, in the west of Rio Grande do Sul, an area of pampas that borders Uruguay and Argentina, has shown its quality wines and the resumption of traditions, with the help of technology. In 2020, the Campanha Gaúcha obtained the seal of geographical indication, in the indication of origin (IP) modality, which attests that the place is recognized for the quality of its wines. Today, 20 producers are part of the Associação Vinhos da Campanha, which brings together those who managed to meet the standards to use the IP seal. The Guatambu winery, in Dom Pedrito, is one of those that got the seal, following the path of investing in quality, not quantity. With that, it fits as a boutique winery, with several award-winning wines. The technical director, Gabriela Hermann Pötter, explains that the bunches of grapes are selected in the field, they go through a cold chamber to guarantee quality and this is only possible by working on a small scale. “Our focus is precisely on having small and limited batches, with numbered bottles”, she explained. Guatambu’s sale of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines jumped during the pandemic. The winery saw a 60% increase in demand. A growth also seen by other producers, such as Renê Almazar Moura, co-owner of Bodega Sossego. “During the pandemic, there was a border blockade, the dollar was high, so people ended up having access to Brazilian wine, almost forced, because that was what they had, but they had a very pleasant surprise”, he evaluated. The market scenario for the Gaúcha Campaign is promising. Renê Moura claims that industry in the region has become very professional in the last 20 years. “There was investment in technology, new people entered the industry, young people who went to study abroad brought market ideas”, he observed. He himself is an example: in 2008 he took a master’s degree in wine business in England and from there he developed the project to create Bodega Sossego, as the family only had the vineyard on the property. Sales of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines from Guatambu jumped during the pandemic – TV Brasil Despite being emerging on the national scene now, the region was a highlight in the area more than a century ago. The first winery registered in the country, J. Marimon & Filhos, was located in Campanha Gaúcha, in the municipality of Candiota. There are records from 1923 in the local press that wines received gold medals in competitions. Today the winery no longer exists, the ruins remain to remember a past of glory that is once again glimpsed. A few kilometers from where J. Marimon & Filhos operated, today another winery stands out: Batalha Vinhas & Vinhos. The name refers to the place where the Battle of Seival was fought, in 1836, where the rebels of the Farroupilha Revolution defeated the imperial army. The 29-hectare property produces award-winning wines that also have an IP seal. Giovani Peres, a partner at the winery, explains that the company also has a partnership with grape producers. “The producer brings the grape and we produce the wine, this is a very strong feature in the Campanha Gaúcha”, he said. The winery also opened its doors to tourism. In addition to telling the story of the place, visitors can taste the wines and an authentic gaucho barbecue. This strategy has been one of the alternatives to promote the dissemination of the quality of the region’s wines by several producers who have the IP seal. The Campos de Cima winery, in Itaqui, also opted for this path. At the property, tourists can either take a guided tour with a wine tasting at the end of the tour, or stay at the Wine House. According to the president of the Association, who is also the commercial director of the company, Pedro Miguel Lopes Albergaria Candelária, tourism is something that has grown a lot among producers in the region. Risky bet Campos de Cima is one of the classic cases in the region, where the property traditionally focused production on other activities, such as livestock. The farm, over 150 years old, also produced rice. But in 2000, the couple Hortência Ravache Auyb and José Silva Ayub decided to diversify and opted for wine, with the help of Embrapa and Sebrae. It was a risky gamble, but it paid off. “People used to say: “you guys are crazy to start producing wine here, this region doesn’t produce grapes”, but we did a lot of research, it wasn’t a job that we started from scratch”, remembers Hortência. Today, José Ayub is proud to have created something innovative. “This is an embryo of new things, after we implemented the wine area, there are already people planting pecan nuts and olive trees”, he said. In Sant’ana do Livramento, another winery also emerged from a family property. The lands where Pueblo Pampeiro is located today came from the great-grandparents, descendants of Germans, of the agronomist Marcos Obrakat. “They worked with a European family producing dairy products, milk, livestock, fruits and orange wine, very traditional in the region. As time went by, they got old, went to the city and then left this property leased for 40 years. 10 years ago, we arrived here, and it was in a very degraded state and we felt that energy, the call to come back here”, he said. Together with his wife, the Uruguayan Cintia Lee, they called another Uruguayan couple, the oenologist Javier Michelena and the Foreign Trade professional Liliana Silva, to create a winery with different wines. “We are against the grain, because we produce a wine that is little known in Brazil, a fortified wine. And this is the concept of the business, doing different things”, explained Marcos. One of the most awarded products is Indómito, a liqueur wine made from Tannat grapes. He received 2 awards in Brazil and 3 internationally – in Chile, Argentina and Portugal. Javier Michelena gets emotional when talking about the product and remembering everything he went through to reach the standard that the winery has achieved: “it’s like a son”. Science and experience For the region to reach this level of quality, science and experience went hand in hand. Several wineries have laboratories for analysis from the grape before it is harvested to the bottling stage. But it is the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa) that has the responsibility of evaluating the wines that receive the IP seal of the Campaign Gaúcha. “This sensorial analysis is carried out at the University and the wines that have guaranteed quality are indicated to receive the seal, whereas wines that do not have the minimum character of acceptance of the product, they are withdrawn, they are wines that can be marketed, but without the seal indication of origin”, explained professor of oenology, Marcos Gabbardo. He is one of those responsible for the demonstration vineyard, where there are 72 grape varieties, which helps in studies of better diversities for the region. Wines receive the IP seal from the Gaúcha Campaign – TV Brasil Unipampa also offers the only baccalaureate course in Oenology in the country, attracting students from all over Brazil and also from neighboring countries, such as Uruguay, where this type of course is limited to technical area. The dean of the Dom Pedrito campus, Nádia Bucco, said that it was a challenge to create the Faculty of Enology at a time when the grape and wine production chain was just beginning in the region. “Today the demand in the market is greater than we can deliver professionals”. For Professor Gabbardo, the work of transmitting experiences to younger people and encouraging them to work with grapes in the region is rewarding. “My life choice is to work with Brazilian wine, to develop this product. And I am what I am thanks to wine, thanks to grape production here in Brazil. So taking that to other generations is very important,” he concluded.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©