the wine revolution in the mountains of Rio Grande do Sul driven by the union of producers

The strength of decentralized entrepreneurship shapes the success of national viticulture. According to Gazeta do Povo, Rio Grande do Sul generates around nine tenths of the country's total wines and sparkling wines, the result of a legacy that began with Italian immigration to Serra Gaúcha from 1875 onwards.

The free association model demonstrates significant economic solidity. According to Gazeta do Povo and data from the Ocergs System, the twelve Rio Grande do Sul wine cooperatives support four thousand and seven hundred farmers linked to the system, support one thousand and four hundred jobs under the CLT regime and achieved revenue of one billion and eight hundred million reais in 2025, which represents a nominal increase of 25% compared to 2021.

Stories like that of rural producer Nestor Tonin, a participant for more than three decades in farmers' societies in Serra Gaúcha according to Gazeta do Povo, illustrate the longevity of the sector. The first wine cooperatives in the region were founded in 1929, consolidating a culture of mutual cooperation without state intervention.

Large players maintain this expansion dynamic. According to Gazeta do Poven, Cooperativa Vinícola Aurora, originally created in 1931 by sixteen families in Bento Gonçalves, currently has around one thousand and one hundred members in its membership with an average of 2.7 hectares each, in addition to recording the receipt of 93.3 million kilos of grapes in the 2026 harvest, a volume 30% higher than the previous year.

Another example of market consolidation occurred in 2010 with the creation of the Nova Aliança Cooperative in Flores da Cunha, formed through the merger of five cooperatives and the union of more than 600 families, as reported by Gazeta do Povo.

What changes for the investor

The advancement of the cooperative sector and the growth in revenue demonstrate the resilience of businesses based on private efficiency and gains in scale in agricultural production. For investors with an eye on the financial market, the expansion of production chains structured in agribusiness reinforces the relevance of companies and securities linked to the food and beverage sector in the Brazilian real economy, requiring careful monitoring of harvest and domestic consumption indicators.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.