A Tasting of Brazilian Wines at Embassy of Brazil in India

As someone who actively follows the world of wines, I have been always been aware of the growing quality and stature of wines of Brazil however till now I hadn’t got an opportunity to taste these. So I felt fortunate and privileged to attend a unique wine tasting organised at the Embassy of Brazil in New Delhi recently.

This special event featured a special delegation from the state of Rio Grande du Sol in Brazil comprising of both their government officials as also representatives of prominent wine houses. Located in Southern part of the country, Rio Grande du Sol is largest wine region of Brazil producing more than 90% of its wines.

The evening commenced with the Ambassador of Brazil in India, Mr Kenneth da Nobrega sharing his views on the event which was followed by the representatives of various wineries talking about their wines and other products like grape juice etc, all this over generous pours of Brazilian wines.

The brief coverage of all the wine houses and their wines is as elaborated in succeeding paragraphs.

Famiglia Casa Valduga

The first wine served in the tasting was from Famiglia Casa Valduga. Founded in 1875, Casa Valduga is one of the oldest winemaking houses in Brazil and after six generations it is still a family managed concern. This wine house also has the distinction of holding the largest sparkling wine cellar in whole of South America.

During the wine tasting one of its sparkling wines – Casa Valduga Extra Brut was served which was was greatly appreciated by all.

Trivia : the most famous sparkling wine from this wine house is the 130 Traditional Method Brut sparkler, which was produced to mark the winery’s 130th anniversary. The story goes that ex-President Sarkozy of France, when offered the 130 by his then counterpart, President Lula of Brazil, complemented him on ‘an excellent choice of Champagne’! (Well that certainly speaks volumes about the high quality of this Brazilian Bubbly)

Coming back to the tasting at the Embassy, Ms Raquele Vieira Flores from the Famiglia Valduga presented the Casa Valduga Extra Brut to the guests and explained about its nuances. She also went on to talk about more the winery and its wine region.

Vinicola Don Giovanni

The second series of wines served were from the Vinicola Don Giovanni which is located in the Pinto Bandeira sparkling wine region of Brazil. This historic family owned winery is focussed on production of premium bubbles and fine wines.

The wonderful wines from this wine house were showcased at the Embassy by the company representative Daniel Panizzi. Some images of the wines which were tasted are shared below.

Trivia: besides being a historical producer of wines in the region, the Don Giovanni winery is also famous for having its origin to do with the production of grape cognacs in Brazil

Don Giovanni also takes pride in being the only biodynamic producer in Brazil.

If you visit the winery sometime and plan well, then you can even savour a glass of sparkling wine from their cellar against a picturesque backdrop of the setting Sun.

Vinicola Aurora

The next set of wines were from Vinicola Aurora which happens to be the largest producer of Brazilian wine by volume. Aurora is a co-operative which relies on more than 1100 small scale producer-members to supply approx 50m kgs of grapes annually. The company’s headquarter is located in Bento Gonçalves, which is a town located at the Serra Gaúcha wine region.

Aurora markets a vast arrays of drinks – not just wines but also juices, jellies, wine coolers etc. Giorgia Mezacasa Forest , the winery’s representative is seen in the picture below, talking about the wines and other products from the company.

Maison Forestier

The last wine house to feature in the evening was Maison Forestier which has been producing wines since 1750. This wine house successfully balances tradition with state of the art technology. The winery is located in the in Vale dos Vinhedos, benefitting from its rich terroir.

Few of the wines showcased by Silvia Peruzzi who represented the winery, are shared below.

Do Brazilian Sparkling Wines make the best match for Indian Palates?

Although Brazil produces a range of wine styles, but over the years it has been its sparkling wines which have garnered international attention and praise due to excellent quality and flavours. Luckily, the wine event at the Embassy also included some of good sparklers which I got to savour.

Sparkling wines from Brazil come in various styles and tastes. Many of these are made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, using the traditional method (just like Champagne in France). Others use of Glera grapes and made by the tank or charmat method (like Prosecco from Italy).

If I’m asked to address the question posed above that – Do Brazilian Sparkling Wines make the best match for Indian palates?

My answer shall be Yes, they do.

And the reasoning is that being from a tropical country, we Indians prefer somewhat of an off dry style of sparkling wines. Now I wouldn’t say that all sparkling wines from Brazil are sweet or even off dry, but again being produced in a tropical belt, these are likely be more fruit forward giving a perception of being bit sweet/off dry. Against this yardstick, personally I loved all the Brazilian sparkling wines showcased during the tasting.

Brazil Embassy Dinner at Hotel Taj Mahal New Delhi

After the wine tasting event, selected guests alongwith members of the delegation were invited to a dinner by the Brazil Embassy at the Captain’s Cellar in Hotel Taj Mahal on Man Singh road, New Delhi.

This provided a relaxed atmosphere wherever everyone freely shared their thoughts and views on wine culture both in Brazil and India.

So that was a run down on the special wine tasting and dinner by the Embassy of Brazil in India. I end this post by acknowledging the immense hard work that would have gone into making this event a success including foremost Mr Angelo Mauricio the Agricultural Attaché to the Embassy of Brazil in New Delhi and his team.

Cheers !!