Go Brazil Wines

Since 2010, Go Brazil has specialised in importing and distributing wines of Brazilian origin and now, in our ninth year of trading, we continue to be the only UK company to do so. Our portfolio showcases the best of modern Brazilian wine-making, with a wide range of wine styles, producers and regions represented. We are an independent company and, importantly, do not seek to intervene in or influence the type of wines made by our suppliers. Based in Ipswich, Suffolk, our wines and spirits from Brazil are held at a bonded warehouse close to London, from where we deliver to customers in the South East, East Anglia and the rest of the UK.

So does Brazil really produce wine ?

The answer to the question we are most often asked is, simply, yes. Brazil’s commercial wine-making heritage can be traced back nearly 150 years, to when the first of many Italian emigrants arrived in the south of the country and started putting their existing wine-making skills to good use.

The modern Brazilian wine industry still retains an Italian feel, not least because many of the descendants of those original settlers are involved in wine-making, and sometimes within wineries which still bear their family name.

Now, as we approach 2020, Brazil is enjoying a growing reputation for fine wines, many of which have won international awards. The 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio gave the category a welcome boost, with the result that several UK supermarkets and a host of independent merchants started to stock Brazilian wines. Go Brazil has certainly seen an increase in consumers’ awareness and acceptance of Brazilian wine and we anticipate this will grow further.

Brazil’s a tropical country – surely it isn’t possible to grow grapes there?

Actually, yes it is!  Around 90% of Brazil’s vineyards are situated in the far south of the country. The region, which borders both Argentina and Uruguay, comprises the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Although technically sub-tropical, it is relatively cool compared with the rest of the country, with fog, frosts and rain all commonplace. Indeed, snow is a regular visitor to the uplands of Santa Catarina, the coldest state, where the highest peak reaches 1827m (>6000’)!

These temperate conditions favour the production of sparkling wine – for which Brazil has a growing reputation – but both red and white grapes intended for the production of still wines benefit from a long growing season and generally hot summers.

One oddity is the vineyards of northeast Brazil, situated alongside the banks of the River São Francisco on the border of the states of Pernambuco and Bahia: here, due to the latitude below the Equator being just 8-9°, there are no seasons and thanks to constant irrigation the vines produce at least two harvests per year!