Inside the hospitality quarters of ApexBrasil at the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma County, in California, on August 23rd, it wasn’t imperative to wait for the race to end to be able to make a toast with a fine sparkling wine. All the guests were treated with a wide variety of that particular beverage and other fine wines produced and bottled in Brazil. Five Brazilian wineries representing the high quality of the national production were present at the event, and as a consequence of the success of their tastings, they decided to be part of the final race in Miami, as well as the whole 2010 season, in order to take advantage of the good contacts they were able to make.

“The race in Sonoma was a great moment to strengthen the relationship between the Brazilian wines and their importers, clients and American journalists. The relaxed environment around the competition really do help in making contacts with potential buyers, overcoming the usual difficulties that arise when trying to set formal meetings,” says Andrei Gentilini, Commercial Promotion Manager for Wines from Brazil, a joint venture established with the purpose of promoting exports of that sector, which organized the participation of the wineries in the IndyCar event. Fine wines respond for almost 94% of the project exports.

The Wines from Brazil project has been developed together by the Brazilian Wines Institute IBRAVIN and ApexBrasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. They brought to Sonoma representatives of five of their wineries: Casa de Amaro, Courmayer, Mena Kaho, Miolo Wine Group and Perini. For the race in Miami, these companies are inviting ten American wines distributors and some restaurant owners, and organizing for them very special wine tastings in the hospitality suites by the racetrack, as well as in the hotel in South Beach.

Third place in the list of buyers of Brazilian wines, the United States are today a strategic market for this product because the consumption of wines in this country has been in an ascending trend from years ago, with an increasing input of imported products, now a quarter of the country’s demand. A study by Merril Research concludes that in 2000, 43% of American consumers of alcoholic beverages drank wine, a figure that jumped to 57% in 2007. Beer, however, went down from 50% in 1990, to 42.9 in 2007.

Despite of the fact that the financial crisis has reduced the expansion of this market, it is expected that as soon as the economy recovers, its ascending route will be reinstated.

After growing 36.5% in 2007, the share of the Wines From Brazil products in that market fell down pushed by two factors, the economy crisis and the revaluation of the Real facing the Dollar, which increased the price of Brazilian products when compared with its competitors, such as Argentina, Chile, Australia and South Africa, or as they call it, The New World from the wine industry point of view.

Nonetheless, before the crisis, the Brazilian Wine Industry was operating with an Expected Annual Average Growth Rate of 30% in US Sales, a figure that IBRAVIN expect to recover by next year.

“This year, because of the crisis, it will be a good result to be able to achieve a sales level close to that of last year, but for 2010 we are working to regain the expansion rhythm forecasted before the crisis, and we know that the proper conditions and environment are ready for that purpose. That’s why we see as essential these relevant actions such as the IndyCar & ApexBrasil partnership,” Andreia explains.

These expectations are justified by the fact that the Brazilian fine wines have been conquering their space overseas much quicker than it was expected, even during an economy crisis such as the one we’re facing. In just six years of promotional actions in several countries, the Wines from Brazil project expanded over twenty times the amount of exports reached by the companies involved. They came from US$231,000 exported in 2003, to US$5,23 million exported between May 2008 and May 2009.

The target was to attain that figure in 2010, but the result was anticipated due to the consolidation of the Brazilian image as a high quality wine producing country, in a context with an increasing interest in the international market for those areas with more recent production, the New World. After its start in 2003, Wines from Brazil is gathers 38 wineries, most of them small and midsize companies.

In the first half of 2009, the project’s performance shows an American market absorbing close to 15.39% of a total of US$1.1 million exported by Brazil, which means about US$168,800 dollars. The US is the third largest buyer of fine Brazilian wines, practically tied with Portugal (15.4%) and just a little bit behind Japan, which responded for 17% in the same time period. However, if the imports were considered in terms of volume, the US will be in fourth place this year, after buying 11.2% of the 490 thousand liters sold by the project Wines from Brazil. 54.7 thousand liters, and that means that the country has a special preference for the Brazilian wines with the most added value.

The strategy of the project Wines from Brazil in the United States, in order to get for the country to be recognized as a high quality wines and sparkling wines producer, consists of utilizing the Brazilian Steakhouses, 200 of them all over the country, as a “platform” to conquer the American consumer.

Brazil is the fifth largest wine producer of the southern hemisphere, with a yearly total of 3.3 million hectoliters. There are over 82 thousand hectares of planted grapevines, 60% in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where the weather is colder.

On September 1st, a record of US$5 million dollars exported was established by Wines from Brazil. At the commemorating ceremony which took place in Esteio, south of the country, the President of ApexBrasil, Mr. Alessandro Teixeira said that a Canadian entity, Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ), had just selected four Brazilian labels to be sold in their 441 stores in the Province of Quebec, another door opening for the fine wines of Brazil, as a recognition to their quality.


The Brazilian race driver Tony Kanaan, of the Andretti Green Team, visited the ApexBrasil hospitality suíte and signed a botte of sparkling wine for the importer of Miolo, Konstantine Drougos.