Embrapa launches productive grape cultivars adapted to the south of the country

Embrapa Grape and Wine launched, in the first fortnight of February, two new grape cultivars: BRS Melodia, a seedless pink table grape, crunchy, with a taste of red fruits and very sweet, and BRS Bibiana, a grape for making wine white, with a high level of sugar, resistant to diseases and high productivity, reaching 25 tons per hectare. Both cultivars are adapted to the temperate climate of the south of the country and require a smaller amount of inputs to control diseases when compared to other cultivars with the same purpose. In addition to these two novelties, Embrapa presented recommendations for cultivation in Serra Gaúcha of the seedless table grape cultivars BRS Isis and BRS Vitória, which were initially developed for production in regions with a tropical climate, with emphasis on the São Francisco Valley (PE /BA). In Serra Gaúcha, the main recommendation for the three table cultivars, BRS Isis, BRS Vitória and BRS Melodia, is cultivation under plastic cover.

For Mauro Zanus, General Head of Embrapa Grape and Wine, “these two launches by Embrapa are associated with the maturation stage of the Company's Genetic Improvement Program, which was established many years ago with the Active Germplasm Bank (BAG Uva) (https://www.embrapa.br/uva-e-vinho/banco-ativo-de-germoplasma-de-uva). Today we have a working collection with the best selections and cultivars that provide material for crossings, assigning interesting characteristics, for example, resistance to diseases, bunch characteristics, color, aroma and flavor of the grapes. This way, we are able to permanently offer new cultivars to meet the demands of the sector.” 

Approximately 120 people, including winegrowers, technicians and Sector leaders, were present at the launch event of 'BRS Melodia' and presentation of management for the Serra Gaúcha of 'BRS Vitória' and 'BRS Isis', when they were able to learn about the results of the research carried out by Embrapa in Bento Gonçalves. Umberto Camargo, retired researcher from Embrapa and responsible for creating the Brazilian Grape Genetic Improvement Program, highlighted the importance of publicizing, along with the releases, cultivation recommendations, because, according to him: “I have seen producers implement BRS areas Vitória and, in the second year of cultivation, decided to eliminate the vineyard. I attribute this mainly to the lack of knowledge about the management of the new cultivar, which is very good but, if poorly managed, could be considered a variety without quality or with serious defects”.

BRS Melodia, seedless pink grape grown under plastic cover

BRS Melodia is a hybrid grape cultivar, with good tolerance to vine diseases, mainly downy mildew and powdery mildew. It was created specifically for consumption in natura, highlighting its very intense pink color and flavor Tutti Frutti. As for the texture, it is a crunchy grape with a thin skin, making it an easy grape to chew. BRS Melodia has adapted very well to Serra Gaúcha under plastic cover, a region where this type of cultivation has increased.

Click here and learn more about the management of ‘BRS Melodia’ with the researcher and coordinator of the Uvas do Brasil Genetic Improvement Program, João Dimas Maia.

Producers are interested in the BRS Melodia cultivar

The table grape producer from Alto Feliz, RS, Jair Fernando Freiberger, liked the launches: “they are very beautiful, showy grapes which I believe will have great potential to reach large markets in the future as well”. Producers from other regions were also interested in the new cultivar, such as Sergio Eiti Iida from Pirapora, MG. There, the family cultivates 130 hectares of Niágara grapes, in addition to a small, and growing, area of ​​BRS Isis and BRS Vitória. “We were very interested in ‘BRS Melodia’ and, based on what we tasted, this tasty grape certainly has great potential for market acceptance,” said Iida.

Vilmar Capellaro, current Mayor of Lagoa Grande-PE, in the São Francisco Valley, produces the Embrapa cultivars BRS Vitória, BRS Isis, BRS Núbia and BRS Clara, in an area of ​​110 hectares and sees in his region, which has around 1500 producers settled by Incra on the banks of the São Francisco River, a great potential for table viticulture. Being a member of the Fruit Culture Chamber in the São Francisco Valley region, Capellaro believes that “the country, especially the São Francisco Valley, must invest more in national technology, so that the knowledge generated here strengthens both the domestic market and exports; This is a practical example of the potential that ‘BRS Melodia’, generated by Embrapa, can achieve as it is with ‘BRS Vitória’”.

BRS Bibiana, grape cultivar for making white wine

BRS Bibiana is a white grape, resistant to bunch rot, as they are not compact. The wine made with BRS Bibiana is reminiscent of those  obtained from European grapes; The sugar level, at maturation, is high, around 21 ºBrix, with acidity around 100 to 120 mEq/liter. The new cultivar adapts better to the humid subtropical climate of the Serra Gaúcha region, has high productivity and requires less phytosanitary treatments due to its genetic resistance and loose bunches.

For the General Head of Embrapa Grape and Wine, Mauro Zanus, 'BRS Bibiana' “is the raw material most adapted to the soil and climate conditions of Serra Gaúcha for the production of a white wine with all the characteristics of a fine wine ”.

Click here and learn more about the characteristics of the management of the BRS Bibiana grape cultivar for processing, developed by Embrapa for the production of white wine, with the researcher and coordinator of the Uvas do Brasil Genetic Improvement Program, Patrícia Ritschel.

Winemakers and winemakers are surprised by ‘BRS Bibiana’ and its wine

The agronomist at Cooperativa Vinícola São João, Paulo Adolfo Tesser, believes that BRS Bibiana is a variety with superior quality to the region's wine grapes: “The most important thing is its aroma, similar to that of wine grapes, like Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. It is also an easier grape to produce and resistant to bunch rot and other diseases, which is very important in this rainy region.”

Thompson Benhur Didoné, extension agent at Emater/RS-Ascar, was not familiar with the new white wine cultivar and agrees with Tesser: “just the reduction in the application of pesticides, due to resistance mainly to rot, is already a gain for the producer in terms of reduction in production costs and also in environmental terms”. What also surprised him was the wine: “extremely elegant, with all the similarity to vinifera, although classified as a hybrid, with a balanced acidity”. For him, it is a wine with great potential.

Flávio Ângelo Zílio, winemaker at Cooperativa Vinícola Aurora, even makes a request to anyone who tastes the wine from ‘BRS Bibiana’: “evaluate these varieties with great care, because they originate from a lot of work and have proven their quality. We need to respect them and disseminate them throughout Brazil, so that we can drink increasingly healthier and quality wines”.

This is the case of ‘BRS Bibiana’: a grape that allows the production of a wine with excellent sensorial characteristics, offering the winegrower and the industry a high quality raw material adapted to the Serra Gaúcha. Click here and learn, with researcher Mauro Zanus, more about the oenological characteristics of white wine made with the BRS Bibiana cultivar.

Umberto Camargo, a retired researcher who started the Brazilian Grape Genetic Improvement Program, believes in this work that is already 42 years old and that continues to generate important products for the Brazilian wine sector. For Camargo, the ‘BRS Bibiana’ wine is very peculiar, with a fruity aroma, reminiscent of guava, has high quality terpenes and can compete in sensory evaluations of wines anywhere in the world. “I believe this is an opportunity that Serra Gaúcha and Brazilian winemaking have to definitively consecrate a genuinely Brazilian product.”

The Grapes of Brazil Genetic Improvement Program is carried out in connection with the production sector, observing their demands and generating national technological solutions. Not all countries have these advances at their disposal, introduced little by little by a large team of researchers and technicians, who are now able to make available, in line with Embrapa's challenges, innovations in the production sector, in order to maintain the sector's competitiveness, concludes the General Manager of Embrapa Grape and Wine, Zanus. 

‘BRS Isis’ and ‘BRS Vitória’ adapted to the soil and climate conditions of Serra Gaúcha

The grape cultivars BRS Isis and BRS Vitória, developed for cultivation in tropical regions, had their management adapted to the temperate climate of the Serra Gaúcha, under plastic cover. Research assistant Roque Zílio, from Embrapa Uva e Vinho, provides guidance on the characteristics of these cultivars and their management in Serra Gaúcha. Click here for information on the management of ‘BRS Isis’ in the Serra Gaúcha region and here, for information about ‘BRS Vitória’.   

According to Patrícia Ritschel, coordinator of the Uvas do Brasil Genetic Improvement Program, the development of new grapevine cultivars, which include resistance to diseases and adaptation to the environmental conditions of the region where they will be cultivated, is the business of the Uvas do Brasil genetic improvement program. “We believe in the success of the cultivars launched in recent weeks: BRS Bibiana, which results in excellent wines, with resistance to bunch rot, a decisive factor for harvesting grapes with health and quality, especially in regions with high rainfall during the harvest; and BRS Melodia, with a peculiar flavor that pleases the consumer, is a candidate to be part of the exclusive club of “gourmet” cultivars.