Brazilian Cerrado consolidates new frontier of winemaking

The agricultural landscape of the Federal District is beginning to take on new tones with the advancement of grape cultivation for the production of fine wines. In areas such as the PAD-DF (Programa de Assentamento Dirigido do Distrito Federal), producers have been investing in double pruning to transform the Cerrado into a new frontier for quality winemaking. This technology reverses the traditional cycle of the vine and allows grapes to be harvested during the dry season. “I really believe in this activity, mainly because of the characteristics of our terroir, which are exceptional. In the near future, this region will become a small Vale dos Vinhedos”, envisions producer Ronaldo Triacca, owner of Villa Triacca Hotel Vinícola & Spa and one of the ten partners of Vinícola Brasília. 

In June, Triacca welcomed a group of 40 employees from Embrapa Cerrados who made a technical visit to Villa Triacca and Vinícola Brasília. The purpose of the visit was to get to know the operations and innovations implemented, in addition to identifying potential research demands. “This technical visit is also aligned with the proposal of the joint project that is being articulated focused on the production of winter wines in the Federal District, a strategic initiative for diversifying local agriculture with added value,” highlighted the head of Research & Development at Embrapa Cerrados, Eduardo Alano. 

Embrapa is coordinating this research project, which will focus on validating winemaking technologies already developed by the institution, in addition to improving the production system for making winter wines in the Federal District, with the aim of strengthening and expanding this new production chain. According to Alano, the project will be developed in collaboration between Embrapa Grapes and Wine (RS) and Embrapa Cerrados (Planaltina-DF). The initiative will also include the participation of the National Association of Winter Wine Producers (Anprovin) and Coopa-DF.

The project proposal emerged after a series of discussions and active listening to the demands of the production sector, such as the need to diversify scion cultivars (varieties of plants grafted onto a rootstock); the recommendation of rootstocks for the region's soil and climate conditions; issues related to irrigation (how, when and how much to irrigate); management and timing of production pruning; occurrence of imbalance in maturation due to excessive heat; and adjustments in phytosanitary management to reduce the number of sprays during the rainy season. The project will also seek solutions to reduce production costs and increase productivity.

successful experience

“Villa Triacca was born from the need to diversify our activities. We realized that our property had great tourism potential. This story began in 2011 and, today, we are very pleased with all the recognition we have achieved over time. We are small and have no intention of growing in scale - our focus is always on improving quality, not quantity”, stated Triacca. He said that he had always dreamed of producing wines. “But, in my mind, I would produce colonial, table wines. The course of this story changed when I learned about the double pruning technique, which allows the cycle to be reversed”, he reported. 

Triacca explained in detail the management adopted in the region. “We do two cycles of almost six months. We prune in September (formation pruning). In October, when the plant produces its bunches, we remove them all manually on purpose so that the plant does not produce, which causes the vines to store nutrients in the trunks, branches and leaves. We could do two harvests, but we would not make a wine of such high quality”, he explained. According to him, the vines are trained until the end of February, beginning of March, when the production pruning is done. The harvest takes place in July and August, after the fruit has ripened.

“Here in the Federal District, we have a set of factors that allow us to produce high-quality wines,” he celebrated. For him, the difference lies in the climate. “High altitudes provide large temperature ranges. And here in the region, we have this characteristic. This is spectacular for the complexity of the wine.” Triacca also spoke about the challenges faced. “The beginning is never easy, we had to train a lot of labor. Today, we are managing to master the management technique well. Now, we have another big challenge: putting these wines on the market,” he emphasized.

According to the producer, many visitors are surprised by what they find at the location. “It’s no wonder that we’re receiving so many awards in such a short space of time. Professionals from other wineries are surprised by what we’re doing here. The level of quality that other wine-producing regions in the country took years to achieve, we’re achieving in less than five years,” he celebrated. Villa Triacca has six hectares of vineyards of the red varieties: Syrah, Marcelan, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Grenache and Nebiolo; and the white varieties: Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.  

In recent months, the property has begun a new cultivation experiment: producing wine grapes under central pivot irrigation. “The soil in this pivot area is rocky, which significantly lowered the average productivity of cereals. Since we needed to increase the area of ​​the vineyards, we are starting to use this area for grains and optimizing the pivot,” he explained. The vineyard was planted in November 2024 and should begin producing in March of next year. The project began with one hectare, but according to Triacca, the intention is to expand to 15 hectares in the coming years. 

Brasilia Winery

Opened in April 2024, Vinícola Brasília is the result of the union of 10 families that produce fine grapes in the region. “Each producer has their own vineyard and their own brand. Each one has five to six labels and we are under this larger umbrella that is Vinícola Brasília, which has another eight of its own labels”, explained Triacca. In total, there are around 60 hectares cultivated, with an average production of 500 tons of grapes. Vinícola Brasília's current winemaking capacity is 400 liters per year. 

All of the labels at Vinícola Brasília make reference to the Federal Capital and its particularities: Cobogó (fine dry white wine/Sauvignon Blanc), Pilotis (dry rosé), Croqui (dry red/Malbec and Syrah blend), Alvorada (noble red/Malbec) and Monumental (noble red Syrah). The winery's visual identity also makes reference to Brasília: the logo, architecture and decoration refer to icons of the city, such as the Athos Bulcão-style tiles at the entrance - in this case, designed with glasses stained with red wine.