A paradise of the senses waiting for you

The Vinícola Geisse LTDA. Wine Industry was founded in 1979 by the agronomist and aenologist Mario Geisse, a Chilean who came to Brazil in 1976, contracted to manage the Chandon of Brazil. From the very beginning he noticed that the region presented an incredible potential, not yet disclosed, to improve the elaboration of high quality products, specially in what concerned sparkling wines that were its great challenge and vocation.

Since then, he started investigating the best and proper place where to set his vineyards and obtain the highest standard of raw material. Geisse found the region of Pinto Bandeira, a district of Bento Gonçalves, now recognized as the Mountain Wine region. It was here that he identified all the characteristics which were considered ideal to start his work, with a good altitude (800m), well-drained soil, good thermic amplitude, and perfect sun position – everything to grant the search for the main purpose: to disclose the quality potential that the region could offer. Thus he gave up the high scale productions in the cultivating method in practice in the region – latticework – and made his option for the high spalding system, with smaller productions, but also with higher quality, by associating knowledge, tradition, and technique.

Nowadays everything in the Vinícola Geisse is turned to the search for quality, and so the wine industry is extremely concerned with the details of each stage of the process, conjectures that are still being taken into account in the choice of the raw material. All his devotion is being rewarded with the high quality standard that was reached by the elaborated products today. The main feature of Vinícola Geisse LTDA. is the maximum respect for athe peculiar wine style that Brazil can offer.

Its icon, the Cave Geisse sparkling wine, that is considered the best sparkling wine of the country by experts, can be found only in the best restaurants and specialized stores of Brazil today, besides Belgium, the U.S.A, England, Switzerland, and Chile. It is a real BRAZILAIN PAR EXCELLENCE.

Where is it?

Located in the beautiful Gaúcha Upland, the district of Pinto Bandeira offers his visitors the most charming landscapes of the region. The road, with wine industries alongside, is a matchless paradise for the senses. The green of the vineyards, the peaceful traffic, and the fresh air constitute a real balm for the soul. The vineyards alongside the itinerary are wide open to offer several attractions for the visitors, besides inviting everybody to taste its Mountain Wines.

CARMENERE ADVENTURE 2005 IN BENTO

Vinícola Geisse was the wine industry that was chosen to take part in the “Carmenere Adventure 2005 – U.S.A”. Cristian Muñoz, contracted by the government of Chile to divulge the Carmenere wine in the American continent, visited the canteen. The trip is being made on a motorcycle, passing through the most important points in each country, where a bottle of the Carmenere wine is signed.

The work involved a year of planning. Philippo Pszcolkowsky, agronomer and Professor of the Agronomy College and Forest Engineering of the Catholic University of Chile, with an avowed renown in the wine industry, signed the bottle that will travel over eight countries to get to New York in front of a group of students. The enterprise reasserts the importance and the impact that this campaign represents for Chile, as an excellent wine producing country. The start of such historic trip happened on the 4th of July, in Santiago, Chile.

The candidates for the select group that will taste the Cave Geisse Magnum 1998 sparkling wine should hurry because up to 70% of the exclusive available 1.500 bottles are already reserved. The delivery was programmed for the 12th of January 2006 and the degorgemat (retreat of the yeast) will occur just a day before the consignment. According to Mario Geisse, the product testifies for the high quality level that a Brazilian sparkling wine can reach if the consumers are prepared to enjoy and pay for such a product. “It has been showing an incredible structure, besides involving a spicy complexity that enables us to travel. It’s a pity that there are only 1.500 bottles, and among them I am taking 100 to Chile to “pay for a debt” to some friends of mine. The remaining ones … well, they will be available for some lucky guys, because there is no prevision for an investment on such a product in the next coming years.” The reservations must be made through (54) 505.4288 or by the e-mail rededeamigos@amadeu.com.br. For those who already have their granted bottle, it is a question of awaiting.

TANNA RESERVE 2002

A striking Wine

This wine has been impressing and receiving a lot of praises for the way it shows its complexity, harmony, and mildness, and so promoting the Upland Wine Region of Pinto Bandeira as a producer of personalized wines that looks everyday for varieties which are able to show their potential. It is worth checking!

CHARACTERISTICS

The fine red wine is made of 100% Tannat grapes, in our vineyards, cultivated in the spalding system of Amadeu Line at an altitude of 2.400 feet. This system permits a better insolation of the grapes and, consequently, also a better maturation. In its production, modern industrial equipments are used, in addition to the traditional enologic practice, so as to obtain the best quality that raw material can offer.

This exceptional wine from the 2002 harvest was produced from a crop that did not exceed the 6.5 tons per hectare, that is, a highly controlled and considerably low production that allowed the attainment of very meaningful quality indeces, thus permitting to express its personality at its best.

In what refers to vinification, this wine passed through a pre-fermentative stage in the cold, under a temperature of 8° C for 3 days. After that, it underwent the traditional fermentation at a temperature that varied from 25° to 29° C during a period of 7 days and a post-fermentative maceration of 10 days.

Finally, the elaborating process (mixture) was maturated in 30% for six months in oak casks. After bottled, the 2002 Reserve Tannat remained in special built caves for l2 months more, under controlled temperatures.

DEGUSTATION DETAILS

Strong ruby color, with thick tears. Typical flavor of mature red fruit, of good quality toasted coffee. In a well-structured mouth, sweet and quite balanced tannin.

ACCOMPANIAMENT

Seasoned cheese (Pont-Salut, seasoned goat and gorgonzola), pasta with tomato sauce and red game meat or duck.

Service temperature: 15° to 18° C.

TECHNICAL SLIP

Alcohol: 12,6%
Sugar(residual): 2g\litre
Crop: 2002

VINIFICATION

Traditional Maceration: 10 days
Grape crop: End of February 2002
Fermentation temperature: 25° to 29° C
Production per hectare: 6.500 Kg\h

The Vinícola Geisse could not forget to say a special thanks to Maricléia Spolti who, for 14 years integrated herself to the family, always with the pledge of producing Brazilian wines and sparkling wines, drinks that are known for their quality, the real aim of all our efforts.

AMADEU’S FRIENDS’ NET

The Vinícola Geisse Wine Industry has received again in its company a group coordinated by Heitor Klein, one fo the most diligent members of the Net of the Friends of the canteen.We from the Vinícola Geisse LTDA. family would like to thank for the support that was always granted us and say that our home will always be open for new meetings.

2005 HARVEST The Real Atributes of the Gaúcha Upland

“In this harvest of great sanitation, the good quality that was reached by the wines will be mentioned for a long time. The long dryness favored a higher concentration of sugar in those varieties, so that the sugar could remain longer in the vineyards, thus reaching a perfect index of maturity and resulting in mature tannins and fruited scent. In sum: 20005 was a great year for the red wines, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tannat, among others.

The question is: what happened to the white wines? It is possible to see that there is that something more of concentration, besides being a little more alcoholic.That means the calm white wines of the 2005 harvest are showing to be a little superior to the ones of the other harvests. And what about the base wines for the sparkling variety, that are so prized nowadays? The answer is as simple and good as ever!!! The grapes that ripen earlier are able to reach, as always, ideal indices of acidity and sugar. And for those who have their vineyards managed in the spalding system, the results wouldn’t have been different: they reached a high sanitation level, like in most of the harvests.

Due to such details, our region is apt to produce excellent fine sparkling wines all throughout the years and high quality red wines in exceptional years, corroborating our main virtue, the one of living in the very cradle of the sparkling wine.”

Mario Geisse

Director President

CAVE GEISSE TERROIR REACHES THE MARKET IN OCTOBER

The “Cave Geisse Terroir” will be reaching the Brazilian markets by mid October. Elaborated since the 2002 harvest, the sparkling wine comes from our own vineyards, that are grown in the spalding system, tracked and selected for 10 years. The sparkling wine is the result of delimited vineyard files that were identified as the Terroir for sparkling wine. Among those selected vineyards, 10.400 bottles were produced, constituting a true travel through the senses. Due to the limited production, 40% of the product is already reserved.

According to Mario Geisse, the terroir is a spot of land with particular soil and climate conditions in which a certain variety shows its greatest potential for the purpose it aims at.

BRAZILIAN PAR EXCELLENCE

In samples that were sent to a traditional importer company of fine wines in England, the Direct Wines, the sparkling champenoise from the Vinícola Geisse LTDA. Wine Industry obtained, in its evaluation, an expressive grade of 92 points. Such a result gave the responsibles for the approval of the product a great satisfaction, and it led to the signing of a contract of delivery of the sparkling wine to England.

The first container was sent on April 26, at the same time that two other embarkments were confirmed. With those three deliveries, the limit of sparkling wine to be sent to that European country was reached. That was due to the fact that the Vinícola Geisse LTDA. goes on with a limited production of sparkling wine, so that to maintain the prime aim of the company: the continuity of the attained quality that signs all the enterprises and efforts of the wine industry.

Since 200l, the Vinícola Geisse Wine Industry, that always had its aim totally turned to the production of fine red wine, has left its concern with the quality of the product more and more plain. Since then, the same idea is extended to the fine wines that have been produced by the canteen only in exceptional harvests.

Daniel Geisse – Commercial Director

Reserve Amadeu wine Harvest 2002

Vinícola Geisse, that always places its wines in the market only when they are on their best moment to be savored, has been acclaimed in relation with its 2002 vintage Merlot Reserva Amadeu harvest 2002, originated from an excellent harvest and a controlled production that has not exceeded 6.5 tons per hectare. This beautiful sample shows intense aroma, red fruits, and very pleasant acidity. The barrel in which it was kept during 6 months offered it an aromatic and gustative complexity that is worth checking out.

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One of Vinícola Geisse attractions is the sabrage technique. A French tradition to open champagne bottles with a saber, the sabrage established as a curious ritual that began its history back in the 18 th century, when Napoleon and his soldiers celebrated their victories savoring champagne.
Vinícola Geisse LTDA. preserves that French tradition in the Serra Gaúcha, where visitors have the opportunity to feel all the emotion sabrage can provoke.

The Ritual

The bottle capsule and cage are removed. The base of the bottle is held with one hand, putting the thumb at the bottom of the bottle, which remains inclined upwards and to the front and, with the other hand, the saber. The saber edge or back is put against the beginning of the bottleneck and, with a firm stroke, the blade is slid against the bottle lip, which is torn along with the cork, when it is projected away followed by a foam spray.

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Contrary to many who are full of prejudice about national products, Brazilian wines are calling the attention of countries that produce high prestige wines.

Why is this happening? Simply because “quality” national wines offer characteristics that other producers in the world are not able to offer.

Which ones?

They are fresh wines, easy to drink, with pleasant natural acidity, without high alcohol contents, making them an excellent option, as unbelievable as it may seem, to accompany caloric dishes instead of alcoholic wines that, with the first goblet, invite us to Morpheus arms or to get a driver to drive us safely back home.

People all around the world understand better and better that wine should be harmonized with the moment, the food, and the lifestyle. And, when we want to combine it with something such as a complex kind of cheese, the Brazilian product, with its versatility, keeps gaining its space around the world.

Mario Geisse

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2 nd TASTING CIRCUIT

CELEBRATES BRAZILIAN WINES  

Five capitals – Porto Alegre, Curitiba, São Paulo, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro – receive 20 Brazilian wineries at Tasting Circuit that will present over 100 different kinds of wines and sparkling wines, among which successful new vintage launches.  

2 nd Brazilian Wine-Tasting Circuit

 On April 27, Porto Alegre it inaugurated the 2 nd Brazilian Wine-Tasting Circuit, which will travel through four more Brazilian capitals with the attendance of 20 Brazilian wineries. After the gaúcha capital, the Circuit will follow onto Curitiba, São Paulo, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro, cities where the visitors might appreciate over 100 different kinds of wines and sparkling wines.

Brazilian Wines and Brazilian Food compose the event theme. In Porto Alegre, the UCS-ICIF Gastronomy School (Universidade de Caxias do Sul and Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners), established in Flores da Cunha (RS), will prepare the table combining brads, chestnuts, cheeses, and fruits.  

IBRAVIN - The Instituto Brasileiro do Vinho (Brazilian Wine Institute) is the Circuit promoter and is also responsible for joining the participant wineries aiming to present the best of the national wine production, bringing the producer and its production – the Brazilian Wine, which grows in quality and in recognition in the country – to the consumer market. According to Mr. Carlos R. Paviani, Ibravin executive chairman, “the Circuit is one more opportunity to prove and confirm national wine quality and its exceptional vintages".  

Production grows – Brazilian wine average production along the last five years ( 2000-2004) was 294.81 million liters (38.97 million fine wines, or 13.22%, and 255.84 million table wines, or 86.78%). Comparing to the period 1995-1999 , the total average production was 229.11 million liters , according to the Rio Grande do Sul Viticulture Register. The State of Rio Grande do Sul is estimated to be responsible for 90% of the national wine production and its sub-products. From that percentage, the Mountain Region of the Gaúcho Northeast is responsible for 95%. 

Visit the website www.ibravin.org.br

More information: Estima Comunicação Empresarial

Cristina Braga: cristina_braga@superig.com.br
Phones (11) 3864.5076 – (11) 9810.3103
Luiza Estima: luiza@estimacom.com.br
Phones (11) 3661.8327 – (11) 9947.3056

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Interview published in Alta Gatronomia magazine

Agronomist engineer Mário Geisse is nowadays one of the most respected enologists in the world. Chilean, Geisse was one of the people responsible for Brazilian wine production techniques improvement. At the age of 57, he is Vinícola Geisse LTDA. winery chairman, in Bento Gonçalves, RS, and main responsible for the recognition of Brazil as an important sparkling wine producer.

Alta Gastronomia: Why is Brazil, especially the Serra Gaúcha, being indicated as one of the best regions in the world for the production of fine sparkling wines?

Mário Geisse: The peculiar climate of the Serra Gaúcha allows the most important varieties, used to produce good sparkling wines such as the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir, ripen reaching perfect sugar and acidity levels for fine sparkling base wines, which is not true for most producing regions in the world.

Alta Gastronomia: What are the differences among sparkling wine production methods?

Mário Geisse. The biggest difference is that, through the charmat method, the second fermentation takes place inside a closed vessel (autoclave). After the second fermentation, the wine is then filtered and bottled so it does not loose its gas. All the process happens within three months. On the other hand, for the champenoise method, the second fermentation happens inside the same bottle the wine will be consumed, requiring very high dedication in the moment of elaboration. Thus, there is the need to perform additional jobs such as: let the bottles, after the second fermentation, rest during 18 months in places with temperatures below 13ºC in order to finish the process, making the wine to incorporate all leaven elements when tearing its cell membranes; after performing the remuage, which consists in manually conduct the sediment formed on the bottle belly onto its top, the degorgement is performed, which is the elimination of this sediment, what is possible to be done freezing the bottle top. This is the only way we can get expedition liquor aggregation, through which the sparkling wine sweetness level is determined. The time necessary for all this is an average two years.

Alta Gastronomia: Why are the French champagnes in such a high concept when compared to our sparkling wines? Is it associated with quality or there are other factors?

Mário Geisse: That happens because the area set for champagnes elaboration is very small, which rises the value of the raw material and, besides, in such a craftwork process like this, a lot of expert labor is necessary and, as we all know, this is very expensive in Europe. Another fact is that traditional champagne or sparkling wine consumer countries valorize the products elaborated with the champenoise method very much, knowing it is something very sophisticated and carrying a very high aggregate value, which does not happen in Brazil yet.

Alta Gastronomia: If the most appropriate process for sparkling wine production with superior quality is the champenoise, and the Serra Gaúcha has special characteristics for the elaboration of this product, why is most of it elaborated with the charmat method?

Mário Geisse: There is an enormous financial cost for the champenoise method once, besides having to let two vintages bottled and stored, appropriate room is necessary for that. The requirement for expert labor and the dedication necessary for the production tasks intimidates many producers. Moreover, champenoise commercial value in Brazil is still very low when compared to charmat, which has a much lower production cost.

Alta Gastronomia: What are the main grapes for sparkling wine elaboration? How do they develop in the Serra Gaúcha?

Mário Geisse: Worldwide consensus: the best grapes for sparkling wines are the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir. They both develop perfectly in the Serra Gaúcha to elaborate sparkling base wines.

Alta Gastronomia: Why the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir?

Mário Geisse: They are both grapes that offer balance and power with suitable aromatic volume at a lower sugar level than other varieties. The Chardonnay has the freshness and aroma of tropical fruits, whereas the Pinot Noir favors higher structure.

  Alta Gastronomia: Which are the features the consumers could pay attention in order to know if they are consuming good quality sparkling wine?

Mário Geisse: First, the raw material must be Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from regions that do not correspond to the ones that are great producers of traditional read wines such as Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon, which are warmer regions. The process that allows for quality maximization is the champenoise, which must be followed rigorously. The product should bear the following characteristics: abundant small persistent bubbles, fruit aroma, refreshing acidity, structure and balance in the mouth, with persistent and grateful finish. Fine sparkling wine is much more than beverage to celebrate. It is also excellent to accompany meals.

Alta Gastronomia: Sparkling wine is a product that suffers a lot with storage and transportation. What is the ideal period of time to store sparkling wines?

Mário Geisse: When the sparkling wine production finishes, it is in the plenitude of its characteristics, which can be conserved longer if the wine is stored in the collapsed position, at temperatures below 13ªC and no light. It is important to know that sparkling wines elaborated through the champenoise method offer higher conservation capacities.

Alta Gastronomia: What are the features of good base wine to elaborate sparkling wines?

Mário Geisse: It must bear structure, good natural acidity, pure aromas with no exaggeration, alcohol grade between 10.5 and 11.0 and no imperfection of any kind.

Alta Gastronomia: Why is the red grape pressing process (Pinot Noir) preferably performed with whole fruits?

Mário Geisse: To correctly separate the juice from the grain core from that closest to the peel, avoiding the extraction of element from it that might damage the sparkling wine finesse and quality. In the case of the Pinot Noir, this is important to avoid coloring the must too much when extracting coloring material from the peel.

Alta Gastronomia: Why must base wines for the elaboration of sparkling wines have preferably a lower alcohol grade?

Mário Geisse: This is necessary for the second fermentation to take place, which aggregates fermentation liquor and, after fermentation, adds an average 1.4 alcohol degrees.