The first Indication of Origin for tropical wines was recognized. The concession of the Vale do São Francisco geographical indication was made by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), through publication in the Industrial Property Magazine (RPI) nº 2704, based on requirements equivalent to those of the European Union. This was granted at the request of the São Francisco Valley Wine Institute (Vinhovasf), a private, non-profit institution that brings together producers - winegrowers and wineries in the wine producing region.
From now on, fine wine, noble wine, natural sparkling wine and sparkling muscat wine produced by wineries: Adega Bianchetti Tedesco (Bianchetti), Vinícola Vinum Sancti Benedictus (VSB), Vinícola Terranova (Miolo), Vinícola Terroir do São Francisco (Garziera ), Vinícola do Vale do São Francisco (Botticelli), Vinícola Mandacarú (Cereus jamacaru), Vitivinícola Quintas de São Braz (São Braz) and Vitivinícola Santa Maria/Global Wines (Rio Sol), which are within the demarcated region (see map below ), and follow the standards contained in the Technical Specifications Booklet, may use the IG seal on their products.
“This is a historic and long-awaited moment for winemakers in the region, especially those established in the Vale do Submédio São Francisco, in the Pernambuco municipalities of Petrolina, Lagoa Grande and Santa Maria da Boa Vista, in addition to Casa Nova and Curaçá, in Bahia” , highlights the president of Vinhovasf and Valexport (Association of producers and exporters of vegetables and derivatives from the São Francisco Valley, José Gualberto de Freitas Almeida. For him it is the realization of a dream. Since the recognition of the Vale dos Vinhedos Nomination, in 2002, he wanted to do the same in the São Francisco Valley.
The project was anchored in a strong partnership between Vinhovasf and Embrapa Semiárido and Embrapa Uva e Vinho. For Maria Auxiliadora Coêlho de Lima, general manager of Embrapa Semiárido, the particularity of producing grapes for wine in a tropical semi-arid climate and under differentiated management, supported by the use of irrigation, results in original products that add referential knowledge and innovative technologies developed for the various stages of the production chain as well as for winemaking. “The recognition of these characteristics through a geographical indication brings opportunities to reach new market spaces and values the work of the various segments, institutions and sectors that have made the challenging commitment to make wine growing viable in the Brazilian Semiarid”, assesses the manager.
The contribution of research, conducted by science and technology institutions, has supported the production sector throughout these years, in close partnership and attentive to the needs to strengthen regional wine activity. The São Francisco Valley, with its environmental particularities, availability of irrigation infrastructure, investment in scientific and technological development appropriate to local conditions, mapping of market opportunities and entrepreneurship in the productive sector, evolves with this geographical indication, in the expectation of strengthening of regional socioeconomic development.
“This is a great achievement for Brazilian winemaking, which was only possible as a result of the partnership between research institutions, education and the production sector. Together we worked on characterizing the São Francisco Valley and its products, fundamental factors for structuring the Indication”, highlights researcher Giuliano Elias Pereira, from Embrapa Uva e Vinho. Over the course of five years (2013-2018), he led a research project that involved more than 40 people from various institutions, including researchers, teachers, technicians and students, to understand viticulture in the northeastern Semiarid region and improve the quality of the region's wines. .
For Jorge Tonietto, a researcher at Embrapa who has been developing projects to structure Geographical Indications (GIs) for Brazilian wines since the 1990s, this GI has the advantage of being geographically located – in a tropical zone, and being based on requirements equivalent to those of the European Union: delimited area, grape production in the area, types of wines, types of authorized grapes, controlled productivity, defined oenological standards, elaboration in the region, differential analytical and sensorial quality for the wines and control system to attest to the wines' conformity.
As explained by Ivanira Falcade, a retired researcher from the University of Caxias do Sul responsible for delimiting the area, the São Francisco Valley Indication protects original wines, originating from a region with a particular geography in the global context. “The region presents an emblematic wine-growing landscape, with vineyards irrigated by the waters of the São Francisco, with the caatinga and its cactuses in the surroundings, or the hills that bear witness to past geological formations, which stand out in the plain, among other aspects related to regional culture ”, explains the researcher.
According to Embrapa Grape and Wine enology researcher Mauro Zanus, the diversity of grape types is enormous, allowing us to find varieties adapted to different climate, soil and biome conditions. “The production of quality wines and sparkling wines in the tropical semi-arid region of Brazil, with balanced color, aroma and taste, is an achievement of scientific research and rural producers open to innovation, with its risks and challenges.” According to him, IP Vale do São Francisco, in addition to promoting the improvement of wines by complying with strict controls on grape production and winemaking, will lend image and reputation to Brazilian wine, giving greater visibility to the diversity of flavors achieved in different geographic producing areas.
For Francisco Macedo de Amorim, professor of Enology at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Sertão Pernambucano (IFSertãoPE) and one of the researchers working on the project, the record achieved will contribute to strengthening the relationship between wineries in the region, especially through the search common process of constant improvement in quality and expression of typicality in the wines produced. “The Indication will certainly guarantee a greater insertion of products in national and international markets and with the seal ensuring that the consumer will find the qualitative profile previously established by the classification rules that the product must present”, he highlighted.
The forecast is that the first wines with the Indication of Origin will be on the market from 2023, after passing the required analyzes and blind sensory evaluation sessions, fundamental steps for the wine to receive the seal.
Tropical wines from the São Francisco Valley are mostly young, fresh, aromatic, fruity and floral, and are available to consumers at any time of the year. But aged wines and even noble wines are also produced, with grape harvests at specific times of the year. Due to the warm climate throughout the year, it is possible to produce grapes and wines from January to December, with two prunings and two harvests per year, with the possibility of staggered harvests throughout the year in the different vineyard plots.
The flagship of production is sparkling wines, with approximately three million liters per year, followed by still wines, with production of around 1,5 million liters per year.
The types of products authorized in the IP are still white, red and rosé wines and sparkling white and rosé wines (bruts, demi-secs and muscatels), made with 100% grapes produced in the defined geographical area. For wine production purposes, 23 cultivars of Vitis vinifera L. grapes were authorized, recommended by the producers themselves, due to their adaptation and performance in the region. The varieties authorized for the production of commercial wines in IP VSF are:
White: Arinto, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Fernão Pires, Moscato Canelli, Moscato Itália, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo and Viognier.
Inks: Alicante Bouschet, Aragonês, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Egiodola, Grenache, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Ruby Cabernet, Syrah, Tannat, Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional.
1960 - The organization of irrigated agricultural production in the region allowed the lands with caatinga to become green areas along the riverbanks and for the planting of vines.
1970 - Beginning of the cultivation of wine varieties in projects that involved winemakers and investments from outside the region.
1980 - Start of wine sales in the São Francisco Valley.
2002 - The Quality Wines Project for the Submédio São Francisco Valley, coordinated by Embrapa Uva e Vinho and financed by Finep, evaluated the introduction of 28 new varieties of wine grapes as an alternative to increasing wines with quality and regional typicality. Since that moment, Valexport (Association of Producers and Exporters of Vegetables and Derivatives of the Sao Francisco Valley), later Vinhovasf, requested support from Embrapa to develop a Geographical Indication.
2003 - Creation of the São Francisco Valley Wine Institute (Vinhovasf), a private entity that brings together wine producers in the region. The entity begins to articulate and requests the support of Embrapa in the search for the Geographical Indication.
2013 to 2018 - Researcher Giuliano Elias Pereira, from Embrapa Uva e Vinho, approves a research project at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), with R$ 1.053.400,00, bringing together a multidisciplinary team that included scientists from Embrapa Uva e Vinho, Embrapa Semiarid and Embrapa Clima Temperado, from educational institutions such as the University of Caxias do Sul (UCS), Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Federal University of Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF) and Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Sertão Pernambucano (IF SertãoPE), in addition to the Wine Institute of Vale do São Francisco (Vinhovasf). Representatives of wineries in the wine-producing region, as well as master's and doctoral students, also participated in the activities.
2019 - Delivery of project results that enabled the historical and geographical characterization of the wine-growing territory in the Vale do São Francisco wine region; the delimitation of the geographical area of the Vale do São Francisco Indication of Provenance; the characterization of climatic conditions, soils and commercial vineyards; characterization of the region’s wine-growing landscapes; studies of the oenological potential of grapes to improve the quality, typicality and stability of tropical wines, as well as the characterization of the chemical, metabolic and sensorial composition of commercial products. The IP Technical Specifications Booklet and the respective product Control Plan were also defined.
10/12/ 2020 - Delivery of the application for registration of the Indication of Origin to INPI by the office of Roner Guerra Fabris, based on the results of the research project.
1 / 11 / 2022 - Concession by INPI of the Geographical Indication: Vale do São Francisco.
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