Montalcino and Brunello : 13 wineries promoting Brazilian eno-tourism from Brazil

SIENA, Italy - May 3, 2014 - PRLog -- The 18^th edition of Expovinis, South America’s only wine exhibition, closed last week having undergone a make-over from previous editions, restriucting both the profiles of the exhibitors and the visitors. This more focused fair proved to be a winning formula for the group of 13 wineries that had made the journey from Montalcino for the second year of project to promote their products on the Brazilian market.

Travelling under the umbrella “Cooperativa La Spiga”, the group included both historic brands and new producers, mainly family-run wineries looking to tap into the popularity of both the wine and the area of production.

Brunello's fame is known the world over, especially in a city with a high proportion of inhabitants with Italian origins and therefore traditionally linked to wines from their country of origin.

The rolling Tuscan hills and idyllic scenery was brought to the Brazilian masses when 209 episodes of the hugely popular telenovela “Passione” aired between 2010 and 2011. The tales of family entanglements on Rede Globo, Brazil’s most important broadcasting channel, lead to an increase of 66% in tourists to Tuscany during that period. This trend continues to grow and forecasts predict an annual increase of 15% of tourism from Brazil to Tuscany in coming years.

The popularity of both the wine and the area, lead Cooperativa La Spiga to organize a Masterclass during Expovinis including a guided tasting of the wines of the area (Brunello di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Rosso di Montalcino) as well as an insight into the tourist attractions, local events and gastronomy. This approach hopes to capitalise on the growing numbers of tourists to the area eager to use their vacation time to deepen their knowledge of wine.

With an ever-increasing middle-class eager to discover lands across Brazilian borders, numbers of passport holders are increasing year on year and there are now said to be over 7.5m international travellers in Brazil. Italy remains the second destination after France and in 2013, 700,000 Brazilian tourists arrived in Bel Paese attracted by historic towns, tasteful design, fine wines and a world-famous food culture. Last year over 42,000 Brazilians visited the town of Montalcino and in the first trimester of 2014, tourist numbers have increased thanks also to the programme of cultural events organized in the town.

Over 30 importers, distributors and selected wine lovers attended the event which was part of a programme of activities promoting the wines and personalities who make them. The week started with a press presentation of the 2009 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino and closed with an evening with the sommelier association of Sao Paolo.