Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
This story begins in Italy, in 1878, when Antonio Domenico Salton left the town of Cison di Valmarino, in the Veneto region, searching for better opportunities in Brazil. He settled in the Italian colony of Vila Isabel, today known as the city of Bento Gonçalves, in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil.
The company was formally established in 1910, when the brothers Paulo, Angelo, João, José, Cesar, Luis and Antonio gave an entrepreneurial touch to the business of their father, the Italian immigrant Antonio Domenico Salton, who made wine informally, like most Italian immigrants did that time. The brothers started to cultivate grapes and produce wines, sparkling wines and vermouths, under the name “Paulo Salton & Irmãos”, in the downtown of Bento Gonçalves city.
Portugese colonists brought wine producing grapes to Brazil as far back as the mid 16th century but the mainly humid, tropical environment proved to be a challenge for the early settlers. Though it is a large country, only a small portion, towards its southern end near Uruguay, is within the ideal latitudes for wine production. Brazil has about the same acreage under vine as its South American wine-producing neighbors, Chile and Argentina, but most of it is for table grapes. About 10% of the land is Vitis vinifera, the wine producing species.
Brazil has enjoyed consistent quality advancements since the 1970s and 1980s, largely due to investments by international wine companies, namely Moet & Chandon, Seagram, Bacardi, Domecq and Martini & Rossi. Serra Gaucha, a southerly coastal region of low mountains, recognized for sparkling wine production, is Brazil’s key wine region. Campanha, its neighbor, is attracting more attention for its red wines (Cabernet and Tannat) and white wines (Chardonnay).
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.