RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With over 80,000 hectares of grapes planted and more than 1,100 wineries in its territory, Brazil ranks 18th in the world as a producer of wines, which have earned more than 3,000 medals and awards at trade shows and exhibitions. The industry has established the Colombian market as a “priority.”
Brazil has been producing wines since the beginning of its colonization. But it was the arrival of Italian immigrants (1875) that boosted the industry’s growth.
2020 WAS A GOOD YEAR
Brazil broke the record for domestic wine consumption, which (domestic and imported) reached 2.78 liters per capita per year. This is a record figure and a reflection of the period it experienced in terms of quarantines, restrictions and Covid-19, when people spent more time at home consuming alcoholic beverages.
It represented an “internal boom” during the pandemic. According to data from the OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine), Brazil was the country with the highest growth in domestic consumption, at 18%. The confinements and digital platforms for wine sales boosted consumption to a great extent.
On the other hand, promotional efforts in the recent past also contributed to the consumer’s perception of Brazilian wine. According to the organization, while domestic wine consumption grew in the country, so did exports, with Rio Grande do Sul exporting 27 times more sparkling wines compared to its second largest producing region, with the USA, Paraguay and China as the main destinations.