The regions · Brazil
Campanha Gaúcha: the wine of the pampa, on the border
Campanha Gaúcha is the wine of the pampa: open range, cattle, rolling hills and vines in the southwest of Rio Grande do Sul, right up against Uruguay and Argentina. It's the warmest and least rainy wine region in southern Brazil, and since 2020 it has had its own geographical indication.
Where it is and what the place is like
The indication's area is huge: 44,365 km², across 14 municipalities, such as Santana do Livramento, Bagé, Dom Pedrito, Candiota and Uruguaiana. It's pampa landscape, with plains to the west and coxilhas, those low, rounded hills, in the center and east. The average altitude is around 150 meters, and the vineyards prefer the band between 160 and 220.
The climate is the opposite of Serra Gaúcha's. Winter gets close to 0 °C, summer can hit 40 °C, and it rains less. With so much heat, you can grow everything from early-ripening grapes to long-cycle ones.
The region's grapes
The IP rules list 36 grapes, all vinifera, the European family behind fine wine. American and hybrid grapes, like Isabel, are left out of the indication.
Among the reds there are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tannat, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Malbec and Pinotage, with Syrah and Petit Verdot joining the blends. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. The list even has a Portuguese surprise: Touriga Nacional, Alvarinho and Alfrocheiro.
Keep an eye on Tannat. Across the border, Uruguay made it its signature grape. It makes a powerful red, the kind the house thinks calls for food on the table.
What wine comes from there
A bit of everything: white, rosé, red and sparkling. The reds range from young ones, to drink right away, to age-worthy ones, made to hold up for years in the cellar. Many whites are varietals, meaning made from a single grape.
The rosé usually comes from red grapes, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. The sparkling wine is mostly Chardonnay, alone or with Pinot Noir, and it can be made by the traditional method (the second fermentation happens in the bottle) or by the Charmat method (the second fermentation happens in a large, closed tank).
What the label says
Look for “Campanha Gaúcha — Indicação de Procedência” (Indication of Provenance) on the label and a numbered control seal on the bottle. IP means the place became famous for that wine. It's different from DO, the Denomination of Origin, which requires showing that the place leaves its mark on the wine itself.
To carry the name, the wine follows a few rules. The grapes are 100% harvested within the area, from trellised vines (straight rows, like a fence). The harvest has a ceiling per hectare: 10 tons for red, 12 for white and rosé, 15 for sparkling. A varietal has at least 85% of the grape named on the label, and the vintage written on it applies to at least 85% of the wine. At the end, a panel tastes everything blind.
What it pairs with
It's churrasco country, and the wine here gets the message. Tannat or Cabernet Sauvignon with fatty beef ribs and picanha: the tannin and the fat get along. The pampa raises cattle and sheep, so roast lamb with Merlot or Cabernet Franc is a sure bet. Arroz de carreteiro (rice with beef) goes well with a young red or a rosé, and Chardonnay pairs with roast chicken and grilled fish. It's a suggestion, not a rule: what counts is what you like.
A new region with old roots
Grapes arrived early, with the Jesuit missions and the Portuguese settlers. But today's wine began in the 1970s and 1980s, when Santana do Livramento got large vineyards and its first wineries. In the 2000s, new investment spread the vines across several municipalities, and by 2015 there were already 1,560 hectares of vinifera grapes.
The producers founded their association in 2010 and, between 2013 and 2017, studied soil, climate and wine in a project coordinated by Embrapa. That led to the application to INPI, Brazil's intellectual property office, which registered the Indication of Provenance in 2020.
The grapes in the labels from here
In the house's 47 labels from Campanha Gaúcha, the grapes that show up most. The number is how many labels they're in.
To start with: Campanha Gaúcha wines by price range
The price range the house saw at big stores in Brazil, in the month shown. The price changes; the range tends to stay.
- Miolo Seleção Cabernet Sauvignon-Tempranillo Roséup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
- Miolo Seleção Chardonnay-Viognierup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
- Miolo Seleção Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlotup to R$ 60checked Sep 2026
- Miolo Reserva Cabernet SauvignonR$ 60 to 100checked Sep 2026
- Miolo Reserva ChardonnayR$ 60 to 100checked Sep 2026
Throwing a party? How many bottles to buy →
Top rated from Campanha Gaúcha
Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.
- Miolo Seival Estate Sesmariasrating ★ 4.5
- Bueno Paralelo 31 Gran Reservarating ★ 4.1
- Miolo Family Vineyards Special Edition Touriga Nacionalrating ★ 3.9
- Miolo Family Vineyards Special Edition Cabernet Francrating ★ 3.9
- Cordilheira de Santa'Ana Tannat (Reserva Especial)rating ★ 3.9
- Miolo Single Vineyard Touriga Nacionalrating ★ 3.9
- Salton Desejo Merlotrating ★ 3.9
- Casa Valduga Raízes Terroir Cabernet Francrating ★ 3.8
See the Campanha Gaúcha labels in the search →