Don Candido is also a member of the Valduga family who set off on his own to open what is now a boutique winery. Favoring quality and tradition, Don Candido produces small quantities of outstanding wines from noble grapes. These have won several international medals and awards. One can still meet with Don Candido in their dining room and chat over a grappa.
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In 1972 Don Giovanni was the first to age his wine in small barrique. A blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Gamay, the wine was very concentrated and quite tannic, with an alcoholic volume considered high for the time of about 12%. Since then, Don Giovanni has been producing powerful wines of great complexity and ageing potential. The winery guesthouse is one of those places you wish you would never leave. Not until you see the tab.
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Miolo was the one winery I had no desire whatsoever to visit. Pretty much a Coca-cola of wines, Miolo group is the biggest wine producer in Brazil. Joining other big wine groups such as Osborne, Miolo aggressively entered the international market in 2006. Today their sparkling wines can be found in Costco as well as in any ordinary liquor store. But then again, how could I be there and not pop in? What was meant to be just a quick check, turned out to be a really nice tasting of their premium wines. With big names come big prices. Expect to pay Champagne price for their sparklings and Chablis 1er Cru price for their Chardonnay.
Tags: barrique, Cabernet Franc, Chablis 1er Cru, Champagne, Chardonnay, Coca-cola, Costco, Don Candido, Don Giovanni, Gamay, Merlot, Miolo, tannic
Summer in Brazil is what any normal human being dreams of. Lucky for me, I can always go home in the summer and experience household names such as Carnival, Ipanema, Caipirinha, Samba, and much more. More happens to be WINE, of course. Brazil has been making wine since the 1600′s and is now a solid producer of beautiful Sparkling wines. One of the most important wine region in Brazil is the Vale dos Vinhedos, in Bento Goncalves, located less than 200km north of Porto Alegre.
Settled around 1875 by Italian immigrants who came mostly from the Trento and the Veneto regions, the valley has a range of features that distinguishes it from all the other regions. Up in the mountains, it is surrounded by the towns of Bento Gonçalves – Brazilian Capital of Wine, Garibaldi – National Capital of Sparkling Wine and Monte Belo do Sul, known for its stunning natural landscape that changes in each season.
We spent a long weekend visiting the most prominent wineries of the valley, including Miolo, Casa Valduga and the prestigious, but small, Cave de Amadeu. On my next posts I will feature these wineries alone, while here I am posting impressions of the valley in general and other places of interest we visited in the area.
Tags: Bento Goncalves, Braz, Brazil, Caipirinha, Carnival, Casa Valduga, Cave de Amadeu, Espumante, Garibaldi, Ipanema, Miolo, Monte Belo do Sul, Port, Porto Alegre, Samba, Sparkling Wine, Trento, Vale dos Vinhedos, Veneto
