Brazil
The history of Brazilian grape growing and wine production started in 1875, when Italian immigrants settled in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil. However, wine production in Brazil is still considered relatively young by most standards, and it was not until the 1980s that it was viewed seriously as a viable financial proposition. Today, there are around 80,000 hectares of vineyards in Brazil, though these are still predominantly in Rio Grande do Sul of the mountainous Serra Gaúcha region in the south which has developed into one of the country’s best wine producing regions. Nevertheless, wine production is also growing around some of the smaller towns in Brazil, such as in Bento Goncalves and Garibaldi.