Wines of Brasil pursue a sparkling agenda

Brazilians are known for fun - carnival parades, the beaches of Rio, dancing the Samba until all hours.  But winemakers in Brazil are getting serious about creating world-class sparkling wine, which, when you think about it, is always a fun beverage.

Brazil is not a huge wine-drinking country, with a paltry 2 liters per person per year consumed there. Those Brazilians who do drink wine, like it on the sweet side.  But today's young generation of winery owners and winemakers are looking to capture foreign markets with dryer wines suited to international tastes - and at the forefront of that effort is a push for sparkling wine. 

Brazil's pursuit of sparkling wine success encompasses all levels of production. The more economical charmat method creates value-driven wines that are fruit forward and fizzy - straightforward and easy drinking. But Brazil also makes sparkling wine with the "traditional method" used in Champagne and other prestigious regions, in which secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle.  This produces wines with more toast or biscuit notes from the extended time on the lees, or dead yeast. Traditional method Brazilian wines are at a quality level that can compete with wines such as French cremants and California sparkling wines. The price point of around $18-$25 makes them an attractive alternative to sparkling wines that start at double that price.   

There are over 100 grapes grown in the huge country, with about an even split between white and red. There are no native grapes grown here, so you see international varieties such as Chardonnay and Merlot, as well as varieties that reflect the country's Portuguese roots as well as the Italian heritage of many of the people in southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, where some of the most successful wineries operate.  

Brazil is also aspiring to become a wine tourism destination. The rolling green hills of the Serra Gaucha wine region and elegant new winery hotels are sure to attract travelers ready for a new country to explore with a glass of bubbly always at the ready.  

Perlae Naonis brings sparkle to Friuli

The world of sparkling wine is a big one, and more and more American wine lovers are discovering that it extends much farther than the word that was once synonymous with bubbles: Champagne.

In fact it's been a few years since Americans have discovered the more affordable and fruitier sparklers from Italy. While many wine folks conjure up the Veneto when it thinking of these, the green land of Friuli, on Italy’s Slovenian border, also produces effervescent wine.

On a trip to Friuli with a group of writers who attended the 2013 International Wine Tourism Conference, I tasted a delicious Italian sparkling wine made from all Chardonnay grapes: Perlae Naonis - Cuvée Blanc de Blanc from San Simone winery. 

We were at the final dinner of our eight day trip, so a celebration was in order. I was delighted with the sparkling wine.  The Perlae Naonis was refreshing, crisp, with streams of fast moving, pin sized bubbles racing from the bottom.  There were light notes of citrus, apple, brioche.  In fact , I could have drunk it with all the courses, instead of just the starter course.

Yet, almost as good as what was inside the bottle was the bottle itself.  The sensuously curving, dark glass was unique – making it a perfect bottle to present as a hostess gift, or just enjoy on a table at home.