The boutique wines of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: tradition and modernity

Abstract

Brazilian viticulture is an economic activity on the rise in Brazilian territory, concentrated in Rio Grande do Sul, especially in Serra Gaucha. In this region, wine production gained economic importance over the years and it also became the radiating and strategic center of the main technological innovations applied in the sector. In this article, boutique wine production in Serra Gaucha is discussed, which has a winemaking tradition for over a century and the emerging Campanha Gaucha, that emerges as the main expansion frontier of the production of fine wines in the country. To meet the proposed objectives, the research was based on different stages: research and review of theoretical framework on the theme, fieldwork, reading and analysis of the wine and culture landscape. The methodology used in the study was the field study. It was concluded that the production of boutique wines in Serra Gaucha was the way found by several local winegrowers to enhance their savoir-faire of wine industry accumulated over time, and in the Campanha Gaucha the boutique wines were one of the ways found by small producers of wine to enter the production chain of fine wines.