São Paulo – Halfway through last year, World Wine, one of the three main Brazilian importers of wine, headquartered in the city of São Paulo, bought 240 bottles of Tandem, a Moroccan wine made out of Syrah grapes. This was the first import of the beverage and the stock ended in six months, well before expected. According to the sommelier at the company, Mauricio Leme, the wine surprised those who bought it and found as many appreciators among Brazilians who are consumers of wines from the Old World, Europe, as among those who appreciate wines from the New World, which includes from Chilean to Australian wines.
“It is an elegant wine, with excellent complexity, tense flavour, combining red and black fruit with a whiff of cloves and cinnamon,” explained Leme. Tandem, whose name brings to mind the popular two-seat bicycle, is a dry red wine. According to the sommelier, a second order has already been placed, with expected arrival in June, but for about ten times more bottles than the first order. Factors helping sell Tandem, according to him, are the exoticism, as it is made in Morocco, the label, which is attractive, and the price, 86 Brazilian reals (US$ 48) per bottle.
“We did not plan to bring a wine from Morocco,” he said, regarding the early sales. Tandem is made by Alain Graillot, a Frenchman considered the best wine farmer of Crozes-Hermitage, in France, and Jacques Poulain, of company Domanine des Ouled Thaleb, from Morocco. It was after the start of imports of Graillot wines, from France, that World Wine decided to try the Moroccan wine. Graillot decided to produce in Morocco, in the region of the Atlas Mountains, and it worked out. World Wine then decided to start importing Tandem as a marketing strategy.
But the wine was more successful than expected. The region where Tandem is produced has good soil, hot days and cool nights, making the grapes ripen slowly. The vines are organic and 60% of the wine is aged in oak vats. The beverage is recommended for consumption with dishes like duck in red fruit sauce, stews, spicy lamb and cheese with herbs.
World Wine
World Wine is part of the La Pastina group, a Brazilian importer of foods, established in 1947, and was established ten years ago to operate in the Premium wine market. The company imports wines from 14 countries, buying a total of 2,500 labels. The suppliers are from Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Hungary, Germany, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia, the United States, South Africa and New Zealand, as well as Morocco. The cash cows, according to Leme, are the Chilean wines.
Each year the group sells around one million bottles of wine. The importer has three shops, two of which are in the city of São Paulo, in the Brás and Jardins neighbourhoods, and one in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo. The company also distributes to partners and sells directly to hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.
*Translated by Mark Ament
