Experience the best of Bento Gonçalves

Bento Gonçalves sits in the Serra Gaúcha, the cool hill country of Rio Grande do Sul, where Italian families, many from the Veneto, settled in the 1870s and planted vines. The town grew around the wine trade and remains the hub of Brazil's wine country, with old stone houses and chapels in the surrounding valleys and tasting rooms in family cellars.

Vale dos Vinhedos, a valley of wineries some ten kilometres from the centre, was the first area in Brazil to win a geographical indication for its wines, and sparkling wine, merlot and chardonnay are the specialities. Garibaldi and Carlos Barbosa lie along the same hills, a steam train runs through the vineyards between them, and Caxias do Sul, the region's larger city, is within an hour's drive. The hill resorts of Gramado and Canela lie to the east.

Cooking follows the Italian immigrant table: polenta, chicken soup with small stuffed pasta, grilled spring chicken, cured meats, cheese and the long café colonial, a spread of breads, cakes and cold cuts. Grape juice is pressed here as well as wine. The harvest falls between January and March, and winter is cold enough for frost.