Wine from Brazil? Who knew?

Well not me until an offer came to sample wine from the largest South American country!

I shouldn’t have been so surprised. If I’d thought about it before, Brazil with its huge size (one of the five largest countries in the world) has varied topography and climate so SOMEWHERE it would made sense that they could grow wine grapes and make a beverage worth drinking outside of church.

Indeed they do. In fact Brazil has more than one region in the country that does lend itself to making fine wine– Brazil has six, with most of them located either in the far south closer to Uruguay which I wrote about here and is known for Tannat, and Argentina, which is well known for its wines, particularly its Malbec (which I wrote about here and in many other places over the years).  Brazil is in fifth place in overall wine production in South America.

So what kind of wine do they make in Brazil and what should we pair with it?

With South America justly well-town most for red wines, I was surprised to learn that over 50% of the wine is white and almost 50% of the wine made is red. But what really surprised me is that the Brazilians are making a name for themselves with SPARKLING wine!

Not knowing what we were going to get, but knowing that Brazil has a lot of coastline, we figured seafood to be important. From there we also considered that Brazil is well-known for its beef, plus Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese so that cuisine might interest us AND as the wine industry has been influenced by Italian immigrants so that cuisine as well might work for our pairing.

Sue started a search, and she found three dishes that she sent to me to check out. They sounded great — unless we received red wine!  Fortunately we received a sparkling rose called “Poetica” by Salton Winery, located in the southern region of Brazil that sounded like it would pair well with the dishes we had in mind.

And as a poet myself, with a number of publications and commissions to my name, I love that this wine is called “Poetica”!

Menu

• Mini-corn quesadillas with Brazilian Avocado Butter
• Field greens with home grown heirloom tomatoes
• Sauteed chard and winter squash with baking spices and honey.
• Brazilian One Pot Easy Shrimp With Coconut Sauce

Salton – Poetica – Sparkling Rose Charmot Method
blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay
sample sent for my review consideration  

At over 100 years, Salton is one of the oldest wineries in Brazil, and it’s been run by four generations of the same family.  Known best for their sparkling wines, Salton also produces award winning reds and whites. The winery and vineyards are located in Serra Gaucha while Campanha has a vinification center and vineyards. Grapes also come from Serra do Sudeste and Campos de Cima da Serra.

Color: Rose gold, salmon, very persistent bubbles

Nose: Honeysuckle, expressive, wild flower honey, bee pollen, the nose opens up as the wine warms.

Palate: Delicate bubbles caress your tongue, foamy, more perfume than fruit, but a nice honeyed hint, sweet citrus, pomelo, grapefruit finish

Pairing: Our mini corn quesadillas went very nicely with this wine. What a fun appetizer idea and so easy by using the polenta chub. The oysters were also wonderful with the wine. The sweetness of the oyster was enhanced by the fruit in the wine, while the delicate bubbles nicely cleansed the palate leaving it ready for more. The wine went well with the shrimp dish as well. Sue put a few fresh jalapeño slices to garnish hers, and felt that the wine was very complimentary to them. The sauteed squash and chard was also beautiful with this wine.

With its versatility, Poetica would make a great Thanksgiving wine!

Please join me, Wines of Brasil and my fellow bloggers and #winelovers while we share our wine pairing suggestions for Brazilian wines. It is easy to join along, even if you don’t have a blog. Just tune in to twitter at 8am Pacific and follow #winePW. Here’s what we’ll be chatting about; all posts will be live Saturday morning with many suggestions for meals to pair with Brazilian wines.

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares "Friday Night Pizzas + Domaine Poli Niellucciu Rosé 2018"

• Cathie from Side Hustle Wino shares "Wines from Corsica? Of "Corse"  (#winophiles)"

• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles shares "Corsica – An Island and it’s wines #Winophiles"

• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog shares "Mixiote de Pescado Paired with Domaine Petroni Corse Rosé"

• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares "Spaghetti and meatballs for a Corsican wine (#Winophiles)"

• Gwen from Wine Predator shares "Corsica Rose with Salmon Crespelle and Currant Clafoutis #Winophiles"

• Payal at Keep the Peas shares "Corsica: The Maquis, The Mountains, The Sea (#winophiles)"

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares "Corsica; French with a lot of Italian Influence"

• Cindy from Grape Experiences shares "Drench Yourself in the Sunshine of Corsica with Domaine Petroni Rosé Corse 2018 and Provençal Vegetable Gratin"

• Nicole at Somm's Table shares "Corsican Happiness: Domaine Giacometti Sempre Cuntentu Sciaccarellu with a Flavorful Seafood Stew"

Twitter chat questions:

11am ET

Welcome to this month’s #WinePW chat about #winesofbrasil. Let’s give a thank you to our sponsor @winesofbrasil. Who’s chatting with us today? Where are you tweeting from? Share the title and a link to your blog about #WinesofBrasil. #winePW

11:05am ET

Q1: Who has visited #Brazil. It’s an amazing country. Where did you go? What are some must do things to do? Besides drink #wine of course! #winePW

11:10am ET

Q2: How familiar were you with #WinesofBrasil before this month? #winePW

11:15am PT

Q3: What did you think of your wine? Was it your first experience with Brazilian wine? Where you surprised? #WinePW

11:20 am ET

Q4: What wine from #WinesofBrasil did you pair with your meal? What were some of your tasting notes? #winePW

11:25am ET

Q5: There are 6 #wine regions in Brazil. Which region is your #wine from? Is there anything you found out about the region you found interesting? #winePW

11:30 am ET

Q6: Let’s talk about food! What dish did you choose for your #WinesofBrasil pairing? #winePW Show us a beautiful picture! #winePW

11:35am ET

Q7: Did you stick to classic Brazilian food or something different for your #WinesofBrasil pairing? #winePW

11:40 am ET

Q8: Tell us about your #Winesof Brasil pairing? Was it a success? Did you know that  the wine regions were heavily influenced by Italian immigrants. Did you consider pairing with a classic Italian dish? #winePW

11:45am ET

Q9: What did you discover about Brazilian wine while researching for this #WinesofBrasil article? Did you know anything about #WinesofBrasil before the chat? #WinePW

11:50am ET

Q10: Anything you would like to add about the pairing or the #WinesofBrasil? Anything you would like to discover about the country and its wines?

11:55am ET

Q11 Are there any final words you would like to share about #WinesofBrasil before we wrap this session up. #winePW

12:00 pm ET

Join us next month on #winePW as we explore #MerlotMe Month with host Jeff over at @foodwineclick.Have a great month everyone!