Photo: Miolo export manager Lucio Motta
For at least the second year, Brazil’s Miolo Wine Group was among the wineries at the recent Vancouver International Wine Festival.
Consumers are more likely to look for Argentina and Chile when searching for wines from South America since producers from those countries have been marketing their wines in this region for the best part of 30 years.
I have no idea why Brazil, a large producer of wine and spirits, has not been banging the doors down as well in this market. But I am glad to see Miolo getting a foothold in the market because the wines solid and reasonably priced. Miolo has its excellent Alvarinho in Everything Wine and likely has other wines in private wine stores. So far, it has not landed a listing in the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (which lists only a gin and two fortified products from Brazil).
Miolo is Brazil’s largest wine group. The business was established in 1897 in southern Brazil by Guiseppe Miolo, an immigrant from Italy. A family member is still involved with making the wines. The original property has grown to 100 hectares of vines. Today, Miolo Group has 1,000 hectares of vineyard across four regions of Brazil. The group also recently acquired a vineyard and winery in Mendoza, the major Argentinian winegrowing region.
While four of Miolo’s wineries are in conventional South American winegrowing latitudes, a fifth is in tropical northern Brazil where the climate and irrigation enable two harvests each year. Half the wine made here is sparkling wine and grape juice while the other half is distilled. This is not unusual in Brazil, which has wine production all over this large country.
Miolo’s other Brazil wineries are in the southern part of the country, near Uruguay (where good wines are also produced). One of the Miolo wineries, Almadén, was started in 1973 by a winery of that name from California. Subsequently, it was acquired by Miolo.
At the Wine Festival, Miolo’s export manager, Lucio Motta, showed wines just from the group’s southern wineries. Consumers who find these wines in private stores will be pleased with the quality.
Here are my notes. Prices are from the festival’s price guide.
Miolo Seivel Winery Brut NV ($20). This sparkling wine is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is crisp and fresh, with aromas and flavours of apple mingled with a note of minerality. 88.
Miolo Seival Winery Chardonnay 2022 ($14.99). This is a lean, fruit-driven Chardonnay with aromas and flavours of citrus and apple. 88.
Miolo Single Vineyard Alvarinho 2022 ($26.98 in Everything Wine). This white varietal is more often seen from wineries in Portugal. This is a crisp wine but one where six months in oak has fleshed out the texture and framed the flavours of citrus and stone fruit. 90.
Miolo Single Vineyard Touriga Nacional 2022 ($22.99). This is another Portuguese varietal often grown for Port. This wine, which was aged in oak for 12 months, is a bold and dark red, with aromas of dark fruits and flavours of plum and black licorice. 91.
Miolo Lote 43 2022 ($33.99). This wine was named for the original plot where the founder established his first vineyard. The wine is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 12 months in oak. This is a full-bodied red with aromas and flavours of dark cherry, blackberry, cloves and plum. 91.
