Adding value to local resources specifically tailored for developing São Paulo State’s vitiviniculture

Sao Paulo state’s vitiviniculture ranks second in Brazil, being characterized by the production of table grapes and wines derived from American and hybrid varieties. Despite its economic, social, and environmental benefits, the state’s vitiviniculture has witnessed an increasing dependence on grapes produced in other states over the last decade. Besides adding to the cost of producing wine in Sao Paulo, grape imports from the state of Rio Grande do Sul compromises not only product quality, but also the process of creating an identity for the product. To give a new impetus to the production of grapes and wines in Sao Paulo, the State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) developed a project called “Revitalizing Sao Paulo’s Vitivinicultural Chain,” a joint effort by the state’s Agriculture and Supply Secretariat, Federation of Industries, municipal governments, and main unions and cooperatives of the industry. Data about vitiviniculture was gathered from specific questionnaires given to grape growers and wine producers in the municipalities of Jarinu, Jundiai, Sao Miguel Arcanjo, and Sao Roque. This information enabled the creation of an original database for the state’s sector. The analyses of Sao Paulo’s vitivinicultural chain conducted through this project allowed us to address policy issues focused on reinforcing special product attributes related to specific territorial resources. This process resulted from the valorization of the characteristic cultural diversity of the state, including the social values constructed by people of Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese heritage over the course of the region’s history. From this perspective, the project proposed differentiation strategies based on specific territorial resources, primarily typical grape varieties such as the Niagara and the IAC 138-22 “Maximo.” Thus, the strategies aimed at building an identity for the state’s wines include recovering the traditional cultural attributes of Sao Paulo’s vitiviniculture and developing the production of the local wine grape varieties.