The 2022 vintage will guarantee legendary wines for small Bento Gonçalves, 125 kilometers from Porto Alegre (RS). Some of the bottles hit shelves now, just as tourism heats up as the days get colder.
Visitors come after the triad: natural beauty, gastronomic itineraries and winery tours. All this topped off by the bucolic look, which gives a romantic tone to the tours.
Considered the capital of grapes and wine, it is in this region that Vale dos Vinhedos is located, Brazil’s first denomination of origin — a certification that places the country on the route of the world’s largest producers. It was here that Italian immigrants found fertile land in 1875, when the area was still called the Dona Isabel colony.
From this lineage came the architectural references, as well as canteens with menus filled with chicken, polenta and capeletti in brodo. Part of the current revitalization of the menus came from the hands of Enio Valli, chef of the restaurant Guri Cozinha de Origin, a self-taught native of Pelotas, who practices the legitimate cuisine of the pampas.
Divided into eight courses, the experience costs R$ 250. With an intimate service, don’t expect a barbecue: meat is a key ingredient, but the spotlight of the house is the embers.
A two-minute drive away is the Hotel & Spa do Vinho, with pieces of furniture from the old immigrant families and restored by the antiquarian Luís Fitarelli.
Within the enterprise is the Vino.Spa, the only one in the southern hemisphere that practices vinotherapy, a set of therapies by the French brand —Caudalie, which for three decades has sponsored studies by the University of Bordeaux on the effects of grapes on the skin. For couples, the Amoureux package, priced at R$830, includes a bath in the barrel, cranial and relaxing body massages.
On the other side of the RS-444 road is the Miolo winery. With this season in mind, an itinerary was created with a visit to the vineyard, the wooden barrels, the underground cellar and a tasting of seven labels from the 2020 vintage.
For R$280 per person and guided by the winemaker himself, you can end the tour with a glass of sparkling wine at the top of the property’s tower. Marriage proposals are not uncommon there.
Leaving the rural area, the Maria Fumaça tour is a must. The steam locomotive leaves from Bento Gonçalves station, passes through Garibaldi —land of great muscatels— and, after 23 kilometers, arrives at the city of Carlos Barbosa, part of the wine route in Serra Gaúcha.
Along the way, stops are made to taste delicacies, such as cheeses, biscuits, juices and, of course, fermented grapes. To entertain tourists along the way, the wagons are transformed into a stage for artistic performances.
For those who like to combine nature and adrenaline, Bento Gonçalves also has rocky walls for climbing, trails to enjoy on foot or by quad bike, viewpoints and contemplative spaces, in addition to the largest bungee jump in Brazil, at Parque de Aventuras Gasper.
The jump is made on a platform set at 150 meters high, with a drop of up to 60 meters. Good for those who have their heart up to date, beating as hard as a lover’s.
