Brazilian winery Lidio Carraro has beaten off competition from larger rivals to be the official wines supplier for the FIFA 2014 World Cup, to be held in Brazil.
The 5th generation-owned winery, based in the Serra Gaúcha, the highland region of southern Brazil, said that under the deal it will double production and significantly expand distribution.
Lidio Carraro will launch a new range under the name Faces, which will have exclusive rights to the official FIFA seal worldwide, and will be served at FIFA-organised events up to and including the World Cup.
A first red wine under the Faces label will be launched in May. Further details of the range will be released at the Prowein trade show this week.
Lidio Carraro makes a range of still and sparkling wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Tannat, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
‘We feel this is a huge responsibility,’ Patricia Carraro, marketing and export manager, told Decanter.com. ‘We hope to translate through these wines the diversity and the unique personality that Brazilian wines have.’
She described the 2014 World Cup as an ‘unmissable opportunity’ for Brazilian wine on the international stage.
She said talks with world football’s governing body began following a meeting at the Soccerex Fair in 2011. ‘They did a tasting with our wines in Switzerland, and also in Brazil, together some wine specialists for evaluation,’ said Carraro.
Lidio Carraro is already held in high regard by some of the world’s top wine critics.
‘I have long admired for their purity of expression,’ said Decanter consultant editor Steven Spurrier, following a recent visit.
‘The family’s wine wishes to preserve the authenticity of each grape variety, each terroir and to remain totally Brazilian [and] never use oak, preferring that the wine speaks of its soil, not what it is matured in.’
Written by Chris Mercer
