Wine World

• changes in grapevine maturation timing - as mentioned previously;
• interference of balanced composition in grapes and wine due to alterations in ripening patterns - such as reduction of acidity level;
• greater pest and disease pressure due to milder winters;
• changes in sea level - which could potentially alter the coastal zone influences on viticultural climates;
• alterations in varieties grown and regional wine styles;
• changes in the geographical distribution of viable grape-growing areas due to changes in temperature and precipitation.

Climate is, and it will always be, a critical factor for wine making.

FINDING AN WAY

A path of choice

When I decided that to hold two WSET's diplomas wasn't enough to introduce myself to the wine field, I planed my "round the wine world" trip, which had as main purpose to learn 'in loco' about wine from the most representative countries of the "New World" - as mostly any country out of Europe is called.

Today wine is said come from the Old World or New. The Old World is the heartland of winegrowing, where viticulture has evolved since 7000 BC. The classic regions of France, Italy, and Spain are the core, and sum up all that is traditional about making wine the time-honoured way. The New World comprises the pioneering vineyards of the southern hemisphere and North America, which were established by explorers and missionaries from the 14th century onwards. (Wines of World, Eyewitness Companions)

On the other hand, I strongly believed we had a lot to learn from this new approach to wine business. I still do. This is one of the reasons why my route included Brazil, USA, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa.

Other reason for choosing this path was that my mother land has more in common to the "New World" nations, obviously.

The answer, as always, lay in the bottle

I constantly say that "just fools believe they know everything" We can associate that to a company's life. Old employees usually give to business valuable contribution with the expertise gained over years of experience and, new workforce brings a fresh air to the industry, commonly with competitiveness, courage and a new approach to deal with the trade's matters. Both contributions are extremely important and one can learn from another.

This applies to wine as well.

When other parts of the world out of Europe, such as Australia and California, introduced their wines in the market, they were a joke for the conservative part of the business. But consumers showed they were receptive to changes.

The "Old World" still thought that the "New World" wine was just a fashion with no strength to continue, but then the new version showed in the bottle their potential and beat the "Old World" in wine competitions.

At that stage newcomer countries were the ones smiling.

The new conquering the world

So, is the "New World" style the best? I would say: it depends.

It depends on many factors and more importantly of all: what you are looking for. I believe there is space in the market for diverse styles.

In fact, "new" and "old" styles come from any part of the wine world. Today, this difference is no longer as marked as it once was. The flavour boundaries between Old and New World wines are becoming increasingly vague.

The two sides have been realizing that they have a lot to learn from each other.

Improved grape-growing and winemaking techniques mean that an Old World wine can taste as luscious and ripe as a New World version. The reverse is also true and "new" winemaking is learning much from the "old" techniques such as barrel-fermenting, use of wild yeasts, and lees-stirring are all being adopted to generate more complexity in the wine.

Alan Boehmer described that: "Much has been written on the differences between European and New World wines. Just a few decades ago these differences in style were unmistakable. Today they are less so, but New World winemakers seem to be increasingly inclined to try to emulate the old ways."

These facts I observed on my trip. Either New or Old Worlds countries are paying attention to old and new skills to produce the best wine for the market they aim.

European way was reference in many wines bottled in other parts of the world. Besides, the New World style was not ignored in France, as far as wine is concerned.

Jancis Robison mentioned that approximation of both ways: "There is now such a thorough blending of ideas and techniques that it is no wonder that New and Old World stereotypes are on the wane."

While in France I could observe, in some bright people, the awareness of "New World" wine contribution.

It was made clear in visits to wineries that had recently changed the whole structure to quality-conscious one. I also observed some marketing techniques inspired by foreigner trend, such as the label appearance and the grape variety's information on it. Another example would be when New Zealand was mentioned as the world reference for Sauvignon Blanc, by a French chateau owner.

Newcomers to the trade

There are novice producers that slowly try to find their way to do things and market to aim.

Among them some countries that we probably never though would be able to produce high quality wine. In fact, most of them will possibly never produce an outstanding wine.

I am not being pessimist, I am just realist.

In fact, I am a believer that careful selection of material; right technology and methods; skilled, committed and passionate staff; investment and a good administration can do a great deal to any business. However, to make good wine, more than those factors are necessary.

French like to call that terroir. We could say that it is a combination of soil, microclimate e geographical location.

On the Geo Magazine, which I bought in France last October, the main subject was "La folie des Vins du Monde" where unusual wine producer countries were in the limelight.

Thailand, India, China, Japan presented the difficulties and perspectives of producing wine. One of biggest problems seems to be climate condition and, considering the perspective of changes on that factor, the prospect for most of them is not good neither.

The magazine also relates that, at this moment, they don't reach the level of others "New World" producers. Another trouble for the newcomers to solve is to convince the market to give their wine a chance, not only the external market, but even the internal one.

Can you imagine if China, for instance, gets it right to domestic market? Would they bother to export it? They probably would. However, a market as big as theirs is not to be ignored.

Where is Brazil in the Wine World Map?

Even been geographically close to Chile and Argentina, the wine business in Brazil has more similarities to countries from distant continents.

Brazil is not far from the situation of other newcomers.

We share with China, India and others, alike difficulties. Although, we also have some good perspectives in common.

Andrew Downie wrote that wine is becoming more popular in countries like Brazil, China and India because of a growing middle class and publicity about its health benefits.

He also mentioned that producers in all three countries are betting those markets will grow, and there are figures to back that up. The "International Wine and Spirit Record", a London-based research company estimates that by 2011, wine consumption will rise by 12 percent in Brazil, 39 percent in China and 82 percent in India.

In order to produce a wine to attend this growing demand and to aim the external market, many parts have to be worked on.

Brazil is doing some work on it.

A hand came from investment of foreigner companies as related also by Andrew Downie, who mentioned that Pernod Ricard owns brands in Brazil; Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has invested heavily in Chandon, Brazil’s award-winning sparkling wine and Dão Sul that

four years ago had purchased land with some grape vines in Brazil’s semi-arid desert just south of the Equator - Thanks to hard work, better technology and hundreds of miles of irrigation pipes snaking in from the nearby São Francisco River, Dão Sul has produced one of the most successful tropical wines yet.

The decision to invest in Brazil was based on several factors, including cheap land and labour and advanced refrigeration techniques. One important advantage it shares with many new latitude producing nations is year-round sun. Another cause was a gamble based on Brazil’s long experience in grape production and winemaking. Immigrants from Portugal in the 16th century and then later from Italy, France and Germany set up vineyards in the south of the country.

However, the great majority of producers were brought up in Brazil. Few of them have made large investment recently, restructured the whole organization and counts with knowledgeable human source.

Many initiatives to modernize the industry have been taking. One of them is the work in "Vale dos Vinhedos" to organize the local producers and create conditions to reach a level of quality and identity in order to have its "Identification of Origin" recognized.

Another good scheme was to create an organization that represents Brazilian wine abroad: The Brazilian Wine Institute, a national association of vineyards, and Apex, Brazil's export agency. The project markets all of Brazil's main vintages under the banner Wines from Brazil at international wine shows.

Some producers aim mainly to export and others, specially foreigner companies, the first thing they do is to establish a foothold in Brazil so they can sell to the domestic market. Then they can think about exporting afterwards - as mention Joe W. Ciatti; the founder of Joseph W. Ciatti Company, the world’s largest wine broker; to Andrew Downie in his report.

I personally believe the first market to be cared of is the internal one, specially in the wine business. It is easy to see that the most successful producers of wine are big consumers of it as well. Wine is more than an alcohol beverage it is part of a culture, an attitude and, if it is not appreciated in the internal market, it will be even harder the external one to believe that is worth trying.

Brazil has many natural restrictions, such as latitude and climate, which must be dealt with. To help to find solutions to those particularities many sources have being made, it must be said. However, more investment, particularly in technology, is necessary.

It requires organization and union from producers to look forward to same direction and put forces together - but not only for marketing purpose.

A good example could be the meeting I participated in Waipara (New Zealand) where the locals producers got together to analyse the Rielsing's quality on the 2007's vintage and to help each other with suggestions for improvement.

An identity is also important. Brazil needs to find its own away.

It has been learning a lot from others, but it also has to look into its roots, culture and distinctiveness.

Many places are recognized by the uniqueness of an element, for example: New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc; Chile's Carmenère; Argentina's Malbec. We still don't have a variety that is the emblem of Brazil.

It is not just me how thinks like that, Hugo Casanova - head of Vina Hugo Casanova, fourth-generation Chilean vineyard, says in Carlos Adese's report: "It's necessary to differentiate oneself, to see how a grape can be emblematic and become what the market is looking for. It's a search for newness".

In this New World wines study, that I focused partially on my homeland, I could just point out how many good Brazilian still and sparkling wines I have been tasting since I came back home. I did indeed.

I could only mention how impressed I am with the hard work and commitment of many people in the trade. They make me feel patriotic.

But I choose to look at some worries, to reflect on them and share it here.

Shortly I will be writing about another subject that I do care about: Climate Changes.