Hannibal’s Exploring in Brazil

We’ve just had news that Hannibal has extended his journey around the winelands of Brazil, and who would blame him?  The country is not only huge, but stunning and diverse from top to toe.

Few of us are particularly familiar with Brazilian wine, yet it’s been around for hundreds of years, thanks to early vine imports from the Spanish.  It was the Italian settlers at the turn of the 19th century who really began to develop it, experimenting with noble varieties and discovering that there were huge similarities in climate in the southern part of the country – ideal for grape growing.

Today, there are over 1,100 wineries throughout the country, mostly small holdings (circa. 2 hectares per holding) and it is considered the fifth largest producer in the southern hemisphere.  Not that this interests us particularly – we are more excited about the considerable quality that Brazilian wines have to offer.  They may not be cheap (it’s an expensive and rather egotistical business making wine in Brazil), but wow, they’re impressive.

View my Brazilian wines here, there are some real crackers!