I tried a bottle of Brazilian wine for the first time last Sunday: Waitrose Brazilian Chardonnay 2013 vintage at £8.99 a bottle. Someone had to bring out a Brazilian wine for the world cup but couldn't Waitrose have thought of a better brand name? At least Tesco and Marks and Spencer have thought of some brand names. What about about Pele Blanco or "Hand of God Cuvée".
Brazil produces this wine in the Serra Gaúcha region which is on the 29th parallel south of the equator in the hills; the Argentinian border is nearby. The hills provide a cooler climate to grow grapes and about 5,000 hectares are planted with vitis vinifera vines for quality wine production. The 29th parallel is outside of the conventionally accepted wine zone of between 30 and 45 degrees South and you can tell even though the vines are grown in a cooler micro-climate that this is really not top flight wine.
Vine growing was introduced by the Portuguese when they arrived to colonise Brazil in the 16th century but it was not until the mid 19th century that wine production in Brazil was mastered because of the marginal climate.
We drank this wine with some Brazilian friends as an aperitif with some smoked salmon. I was really looking forward to it after a 10km run through High Elms with Orpington runners. To prepare for the run I had not had a drink for a week and I was thinking about a glass of wine as I ran through the pain in my knees on the steep inclines. Maybe, I should have downed a bottle before I started the run to dull my senses.
Was the wine as good as the football? Well it provided some novel entertainment and was better than England's performance against Italy the previous evening. I rather liked its sporting behaviour; the bottle did not take a dive when the cat just brushed his tail against the label to get to my smoked salmon. However, the wine did not really score any goals; it wasn't bad wine but it was ordinary and hardly a match for fine dining provided by my wife.
This wine cannot hold a candle up to Waitrose Macon Villages Cave de Lugny Chardonnay at just £7.99 a bottle so it looses 3 nil.
Waitrose also do a Brazilian Merlot at £8.99 a bottle and from the same region so more of this later. I shall buy some to drink with the England v Uruguay match if it is not on too late. Perhaps, it will get a score draw against some Jacob's Creek Shiraz.
£8.99 is a lot to pay for a bottle of wine but why not get into the spirit of things as at least you do get some value for money and it is better than paying for a hyped up FIFA rip-off.
I shall buy a bottle of Marks and Spencer Coconova Sparkling wine to celebrate if England get through to the last sixteen , even though I am half English and half Welsh and was born Wales - they play real champagne football there and it is called rugby. Perhaps, Waitrose will break out some real English wine for the Rugby World cup in England next year. Why not drink some Webb Ellis Reichensteiner Blanc - heaven forbid? But then, there is always some marvellous Tenterden Sparkling Wine to celebrate England winning the Rugby World Cup - at least they have got a real chance.
More to come I think........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichensteiner
http://www.marksandspencer.com/c/style-and-living/the-brazilian-bubbles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/10187866/Why-Brazil-is-on-the-wine-radar.html - Come off it.
http://www.waitrosecellar.com/all-wines/recommended-wines/new-exclusive-wine/waitrose-brazilian-chardonnay-861344
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