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São Francisco Valley: Brazil’s Tropical Wine Frontier

The São Francisco river in northeastern Brazil — The São Francisco river brings water to the semi-arid sertão — and makes tropical winemaking possible near the equator. Via Wikimedia Commons.

By the This Day in Wine History Editorial Team✓ Researched, fact-checked & verifiedAugust 20267 min read

Almost everything you know about wine assumes a temperate climate: cold winters, one harvest a year, vines that sleep and wake with the seasons. In the sun-baked northeast of Brazil, barely eight degrees from the equator, none of that applies. The São Francisco Valley is the most tropical wine region on Earth — and the only one that harvests grapes twice a year¹.

Quick facts

The valley lies at just 8–9° south — the most tropical wine region on Earth.
It is the world’s only commercial wine zone with two harvests a year.
Growers control the vines with irrigation and pruning, not winter.
In 2022 it won the world’s first geographical indication for tropical wines.

8°S

Near the equator

2 harvests

Every year

2022

First tropical GI

Wine on the equator

The Vale do São Francisco stretches along its namesake river through the states of Pernambuco and Bahia, around the twin cities of Petrolina and Juazeiro. This is the sertão — hot, sunny and semi-arid — and without the great river it would be near-desert. Irrigation drawn from the São Francisco is what turns this parched land into vineyard⁵.

Syrah grapes ripening on the vine — Syrah thrives in the valley’s heat, giving spicy, deeply coloured reds. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Two harvests a year

Because there is no winter to force the vines dormant, they would grow endlessly if left alone. So growers take control, using pruning and irrigation to start and stop the vines’ cycles by hand. The result is unique in the wine world: producers can schedule harvests almost any month, and bring in two and a half crops a year from the same vineyard².

The only wine region on Earth that harvests twice a year.— the Vale do São Francisco²

A new kind of wine region

For a long time, conventional wisdom said fine wine simply could not be made in the tropics. The São Francisco Valley set out to prove otherwise. Its Syrah gives spicy, robust reds, and Muscat makes fragrant sparkling wines; Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and others fill out the range⁴. In 2022 the achievement was formally recognised when Brazil’s patent office granted the valley a geographical indication — the first in the world for tropical wines³. A region that breaks all the rules had earned a place on the map.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the São Francisco Valley wine region?

In northeastern Brazil, along the São Francisco river in the states of Pernambuco and Bahia, around Petrolina and Juazeiro — at about 8–9 degrees south of the equator.

Why can it harvest twice a year?

Because there is no cold winter to force the vines dormant. Growers use irrigation and pruning to control the vines’ cycles by hand, allowing them to schedule two or more harvests a year.

What wines does the São Francisco Valley make?

Chiefly spicy Syrah-based reds, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Malbec and Petit Verdot, plus fragrant Muscat sparkling wines.

What makes tropical winemaking possible there?

Irrigation from the São Francisco river turns a hot, semi-arid landscape into vineyard, and careful vine management replaces the natural dormancy of a temperate winter.

Why is its geographical indication significant?

The 2022 GI for the Vale do São Francisco was the world’s first geographical indication for tropical wines, formally recognising a wholly new kind of wine region.

More from this day in wine history

See everything else that happened on November 9 — who was born, what was bottled, and which laws were signed.

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