Portugal marks World Wine Day in Brazil thinking about the future
In the conversation with the two winemakers, on the Embassy’s social networks, there will also be, among others, the theme of “Portugal serve as some sort of assembly for Brazilian wines, starting with Europe“, the Portuguese Ambassador to Brazil, Luís Faro Ramos, explained to Lusa.
A reality that is still distant, since in the opinion of the diplomat, who will also be the moderator of the initiative, “Brazilians seem to have some shyness in promoting their own product“.
Conversely, two Portuguese winemakers – one wine, are sure that Portuguese growth in Brazil has great potential and will be a reality in the coming years.
Miguel Almeida, has lived in Brazil for 15 years and works at a Brazilian winery, Miolo. Ricardo Henriques is a winemaker from Rio Sol, whose parent company is Portuguese, but which also produces wines in Brazil.
In 2021, the value of wines exported from Portugal to Brazil was around 74 million euros, an increase of 8.7% compared to 2020.
“Portuguese wine has been gaining scale in Brazil. It currently only loses to Chile. In volume it loses to Chile and Argentina, but in value it only loses to Chile“, explained the winemaker Ricardo Henriques to Lusa.
Portuguese wine in Brazil
To reinforce, Miguel Almeida recorded the history of the arrival of wine in Brazil.
“It was the Portuguese who brought the first variety. Legend has it that the first Brazilian vineyard was brought by Brás Cubas, in 1532, on the coast of São Paulo.“, he said, adding, however, that the Brazilian winegrowing reality was constituted by the Italian colonization.
“The Brazilian vineyard area is still small“, 120 million kilos of vineyard area, considered.
The consumption realities of the two countries are still in very distant poles, separated by the Atlantic: last year the Brazilian consumed an average of 2.4 liters of wine, while the Portuguese consumed more than 50.
Even so, it grew by about 0.7 liters in just one year, stressed Miguel Almeida.
Ricardo Henriques, on the other hand, noted an “increase in the consumption of Brazilian wine by the Brazilian himself”, but that this did not compromise “in any way the growth of Portuguese wines as well as their consumption”.
“There is a very large window of consumers“, he stressed.
On the contrary, said Ricardo Henriques, selling Brazilian wines to Portugal is “more difficult for cultural reasons”.
“Countries that drink wine in Europe consume what is national“, he underlined.
However, the bet must continue to be made and that the connection that Portugal has with Brazil “can be the platform, not only for wines, for other Brazilian products”, he stressed.