The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2012

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WINE NEWS Southern Exposure THE LAUNCH OF WINES OF BRASIL WITH SOUTHERN WINE & SPIRITS USHERS IN ANOTHER NEW WORLD ERA story and photos by Kelly Merritt L Morgana Miolo of Brazil���s Miolo Wine Group with Mel Dick (left), Senior Vice President of Southern Wine & Spirits and President of the company���s Wine Division, and Steve Slater, Southern Wine & Spirits Executive Vice President and General Manager, Wine Division. eave it to the party capital of the world to ind another way into the hearts of Americans. With its recent launch through Southern Wine & Spirits, the consortium of wineries called Wines of Brasil has added a whole new reason to love this vibrant country. Southern Wine & Spirits Executive Vice President and General Manager, Wine Division, Steve Slater has long been impressed by Brazilian wineries. ���I was struck by what I discovered on my winery visits in Brazil in the family owned efforts with today���s viticulture and technology. Most are estate-bottled and produced with the passion of a family-owned estate with at least two generations of experience,��� says Slater. ���Chile, Argentina and New Zealand all started the same way, so patience and passion are the key.��� The six wines represented by Southern Wine & Spirits are Aurora, Casa Valduga, Don Guerino, Miolo, Pizzato and Perini. The company will distribute the Brazilian labels beginning in Florida and New York. Andreia Gentilini Milan of Wines of Brasil calls this ���one of the greatest achievements in the history of Wines of Brasil.��� ���Now is the time to do this. The Olympics are coming up and we are ready to play in the market,��� says Morgana Miolo of Brazil���s Miolo Wine Group, who says SWS will be able to meet her company���s ambitious goals for developing a presence in America. ���We really care about where our wines are sold. Southern Wine & Spirits believes in our product and they have the tools to make it happen here.��� Mel Dick, Senior Vice President of Southern Wine & Spirits and President of the company���s Wine Division, says it���s about time Brazil captured some of the limelight in America. ���The future of wine in the United States is fantastic. We embrace many of the great wines of the world, so the time has come for wines of Brazil to enter,��� says Dick. The Don Guerino Nora Favelukes, President of QW Wine Experts which specialReserva was one of izes in marketing, sales and PR for ine imported wines, says she the wines selected has the same feeling about the wines of Brazil that she had in the for the Wines of early days when American buyers were just beginning to favor Brasil launch. wines from her native Argentina. ���I feel it in my bones like I knew Argentinian wines would be a huge success here. They have opened the door so Brazil���s success will take less time���especially with younger buyers, as these wines match what they are buying and drinking right now,��� says Favelukes. Elisa Walker of Casa Valduga says the U.S. is a key market they���ve been working to develop since 2005. ���Southern has a great proile with our brand,��� she said. ���This is the moment.��� december 2012 / the tasting panel / 99

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