Brazil’s Northeast Becomes Country’s Second-Largest Wine-Producing Region
Brazil’s Northeast produced 22.67 million liters of wine in 2025, becoming the country’s second-largest producing region. Its 32 registered wineries averaged 708,460 liters each, more than twice the average in the South.
Northeast reaches second place with 32 wineries
Brazil’s Northeast produced 22.67 million liters of wine in 2025, making it the country’s second-largest wine-producing region despite having only 32 registered wineries. The volume represented 7.32% of the 309.74 million liters declared nationwide, according to figures from the 2026 Wine Yearbook released by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and reported by Jornal Pequeno.
The region’s defining feature is its production per establishment. Northeastern wineries averaged 708,460 liters in 2025, compared with 354,470 liters in the South and 102,300 liters in the Southeast. This means the Northeast produced more than twice as much per winery as Brazil’s dominant southern region. The comparison points to a concentrated production base in which a relatively small number of companies operate at substantial scale.
South remains dominant as new centers expand
The South retained an overwhelming national lead, producing 271.87 million liters, equivalent to 87.77% of Brazil’s total. Rio Grande do Sul alone had 600 registered wineries. The Northeast’s advance therefore does not threaten the South’s leadership, but it does alter a supply map historically centered at the country’s southern end. The São Francisco Valley, particularly in Pernambuco, and Chapada Diamantina in Bahia are the main centers behind this expansion.
Pernambuco accounts for 15 of the Northeast’s 32 wineries, while Bahia has eight. Ceará and Paraíba have three each, Rio Grande do Norte has two and Sergipe has one. Pernambuco also leads in product variety, with 347 wines registered at the Agriculture Ministry, compared with 74 in Bahia, 40 in Ceará, 12 in Sergipe, eight in Paraíba and seven in Rio Grande do Norte. Its wineries average 23.1 registered products, above the Brazilian average of 16.8.
Sparkling wine and harvest timing support growth
Lagoa Grande, in the São Francisco Valley, illustrates the depth of this product development. The municipality has 230 registered wines and ranks 12th nationally by that measure. Its average of 76.7 products per winery is the highest among Brazilian municipalities, according to the data cited by Jornal Pequeno. Jones Valduga, president of the Brazilian Wine Union, said production under different climatic conditions increases the diversity of Brazilian wine and creates room for new styles.
Sparkling and lightly sparkling wines have been among the fastest-expanding categories, while fine wines compete in a smaller, more stable segment of the domestic market. Ricardo Perez Almeida, director of Vinícola Vale do São Francisco, which produces the Botticelli brand, linked regional growth to greater recognition of Brazilian products and the development of grape varieties suited to semiarid conditions. Grapes harvested between June and September can be used for sparkling wines sold only months later, when Christmas and New Year demand rises. The broader growth opportunity remains tied to a domestic market where annual consumption is estimated at 2.5 to 2.8 liters per person. Wine tourism could support demand, although the São Francisco Valley still faces infrastructure and air-connectivity constraints. Botticelli plans to begin developing a new visitor reception area and shop in the first half of 2027.
