Brazilian wines: get to know them.

In Brazil we see a new application for a Geographical Indication(GI) for wines. The ‘Associação Farroupilhense de Produtores de Vinhos, Espumantes, Sucos e Derivados’ (Afavin) filed the application at the headquarters of INPI in Porto Alegre. The GI is for ‘Farroupilha’ wines and is to be an Indicação de Procedência (Indication of Source/origin).


Farroupilha is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil with a total area of 359.3 km² and approx. 70,345 residents. The formal request contained a detailed dossier with the geographical delimitation, characterization of viticulture (vineyards and wineries), production processes, the chemical and sensory characteristic quality of the wines, including the historical recognition of the region as producer of muscat wine.

According to the technical coordinator of the project, the major difference of this GI is the area where the traditional muscat grape is produced - region of Serra Gaucha. It all started in 2005 by creating Afavin. Subsequently, other initiatives developed and a turning point came in 2009 with the approval of the project to be developed as GI under the coordination of diverse organizations and institutions such as Embrapa Uva e Vinho; Embrapa Clima Temperado; Universidade de Caxias do Sul; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; and support from Prefeitura Municipal de Farroupilha.

There are already 4 GIs for wines in Brazil: Vale dos Vinhedos as Indicação de Procedência in 2002 and Denomination of Origin in 2012; Pinto Bandeira as Indicação de Procedência in 2010; Altos Montes as Indicação de Procedência in 2013; and also last year Monte Belo as Indicação de Procedência. Al of these have been published here in this blog.