The Wines of South America
Brazil: South America’s Next Great Wine Frontier
What comes to mind when you think of Brazil? Carnival, vibrant social gatherings, beaches gilded by an unrelenting sun, and the electric energy of football, no doubt. But fine wine? Likely not the first association. Yet Brazil’s winemaking history stretches back nearly five centuries – a legacy as intricate as its cultural mosaic.
Today, Brazil ranks among the world’s top 15 wine producers (with 2024 output around 2.7 million hectoliters according to OIV). Unlike its South American counterparts, Brazil has long prioritized its domestic market and historically hasn’t been particularly active in exporting its wines.
However, Brazil is undergoing a change at the moment – a small group of quality-conscious producers is facilitating more experimentation, more fresh perspectives from boutique brands and producers, actively pushing their wines onto the international stage, all while elevating the country’s wine tourism scene to unprecedented heights!
Brazil has a great diversity among its producing regions – like Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and the sun-baked Vale do São Francisco – in wine profiles, and production and elaboration styles – something that only a country as large as Brazil could offer.
Brazil’s sparkling wines, in particular, have already earned acclaim, their crisp elegance winning over international critics. Part of their appeal lies in novelty – the wine world is always hungry for the next undiscovered gem – but equally in Brazil’s infectious spirit, which lends itself perfectly to wine tourism. And when it comes to marketing and branding, few do it better than Brazilians.
This year, the Wine Travel Awards celebrate that spirit with a groundbreaking nominee: Locoporvino – André & Karla, nominee for Wine & Food Influencer, The Brightest Journey.
André and Karla – Brazilian and Guatemalan by origin – are more than wine storytellers; they’re modern-day wine nomads who’ve pressed their palms into the soil of over 100 countries. Their journey began where all great epics do: in the flames of professional kitchens, from the choreographed chaos of Disney World to the rolling galley of a Hawaiian cruise ship and the frontier stoves of an Alaskan wilderness lodge. But wine called them deeper – not to tasting rooms, but to the vines themselves. Today, as experts of the Brazilian market, they build bridges with an unlikely partner: Georgia! Their work ignited a 192% surge in Georgian wine exports to Brazil, lured South American oenophiles to qvevri cellars, and even landed Georgia its first ProWine São Paulo showcase – all chronicled in Forbes Georgia. They’ve knelt in Portuguese ash replanting fire-scorched vineyards, championed unknown winemakers from Patagonia to the Caucasus, and now hunt liquid treasures for South American importers – all guided by a philosophy as old as viticulture itself: ‘Respect nature. Steer the vines gently; their wisdom runs deeper than ours.’ Through their work, they’re paving new trade routes for Brazil with other countries, blending traditions and cultures while enriching Brazil’s domestic wine scene. To follow Locoporvino is to witness Brazil’s wine evolution through the eyes of those turning the soil and opening doors.
Argentina: A Stable Leader in South American Wine
While Brazil stakes its claim among the world’s top 15 wine producers, Argentina stands unwavering in the global top 10 – a position cemented by its formidable 10.9 million hectoliter output in 2024 (OIV). This is no fleeting triumph, but the culmination of a century-old love affair between vine and altitude, played out along the spine of the Andes, the highest mountain range beyond Asia.
Argentina’s vineyards – huddled along the foothills of the highest mountain range outside Asia – have captivated wine lovers worldwide for generations. Across 1,500 miles of dramatic terrain, the country offers unforgettable wine experiences: from Mendoza’s world-famous Malbec region with its sophisticated wine tourism infrastructure (breathtaking winery views, exceptional restaurants, and well-established wine trails) to Salta’s dizzying high-altitude vineyards. Equally compelling is Patagonia’s wine country, where vineyards thrive amid vast deserts, rugged mountain ranges, pristine lake districts, ancient forests, towering glaciers, and the dramatic Atlantic coastline.
Like Brazil, Argentina traditionally focused on its domestic market. But recent decades have brought irreversible change – spurred by investments, quality improvements, and a determined push to compete globally. Despite extreme challenges (including 185% annual inflation), Argentina’s wine industry continues advancing relentlessly, maintaining its leadership as South America’s premier wine-producing nation.
This year, WTA presents just two nominees from Argentina – but what extraordinary representatives they are!
In the shadow of the Andes, where Mendoza’s vines stretch toward the infinite blue sky, the Fraguas family has woven four generations of winemaking passion into the very fabric of Argentine terroir – a journey that began in 1940 when Fermín Fraguas transplanted his Spanish roots to Mendoza’s fertile soil. His son José nurtured the dream through San Rafael’s vineyards, while the third generation – Francisco Fraguas and childhood friend Emilio Corvalán – secured their destiny in 1990 with Barrancas and Luján de Cuyo vineyards, culminating in their first vintage in 2001. Today, Francisco Jr. and Matías Fraguas propel the legacy forward, blending ancestral wisdom with modern ambition in bottles that sing of Mendoza’s soul: the Torreleones collection, a liquid timeline of family history. Beyond crafting liquid art, last year they’ve flung open their cellar doors – launching a Tasting Room where global oenophiles commune with the land, and a Wine Club that delivers curated slices of Mendoza to devoted admirers. Meanwhile, their Entrometido Wines project-spearheaded by Francisco Jr. and Conrado Gibbs- rewrites tradition with handcrafted, small-batch marvels like Colección (Malbec-Cabernet Franc symphonies) and Echos du Terrain (Bonarda whispering ancient vineyard secrets). Here, every cork pulled is an invitation: to wander vineyards, to taste time itself in evolving vintages, and to witness how one family’s reverence for the vine can bottle both history and the future.
With a pen as precise as a winemaker’s hydrometer and a palate that has shaped the narrative of Argentine wine for over 17 years, Daniel López Roca stands as one of South America’s most authoritative wine voices – a multilingual storyteller who has chronicled the evolution of Mendoza’s Malbecs for Meininger’s Wine Business International while educating palates through Fine Wines and Wine Press. Beyond journalism, this globetrotting judge leaves fingerprints on the industry’s future: as founder of the International VinoSub30 Competition (spanning Argentina to Spain), he spotlights emerging talent, while his discerning presence at MundusVini (Germany), Sydney International (Australia), and Michelangelo (South Africa) positions him as a bridge between continents. Yet his true legacy unfolds in classrooms – whether dissecting wine marketing at the University of Buenos Aires, unraveling terroir mysteries at the National University of La Plata, or mentoring the next generation of sommeliers with the same fervor he brings to judging panels. Here is a man who doesn’t just report on wine culture but architects it – one article, one competition, one lecture at a time.
Editors Note: Travel Tip
If you are a wine enthusiast dreaming of visiting these magnificent far-flung lands, just don’t forget: in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are a mirror image to those in the north, so consider traveling between October and April. The spring months of October and November ought to guarantee good, pleasant weather, while March and April offer fall colors and the grape harvest!
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