The phenomenon of moscatel sparkling wine in Brazil

Abstract

This article sought bases and contexts of social representation of sparkling wine muscatel in Brazil. It is a base for more complex studies. A phenomenon of increased sparkling wine consumption in Brazil was perceived, mainly from muscatel sparkling wine, which increased by 417% from 2005 to 2017. Sparkling wine is a product that appeared in France and migrated to other countries after colonization. In Brazil, it has been gaining more and more visibility, be it in music, news, supermarkets, and other social contexts. To understand this phenomenon, we sought the media and cultural databases, i.e. music, online newspapers. In Brazilian music, the sparkling wine is represented as a luxury product, which refers to romance, festivities, celebrations, special moments, seduction, special gifts, social differentiation, among others. In others media, it is perceived as a fresh, light drink, with pleasant sweetness and easiness to drink, and also an option for those who want to start venturing into the world of wine. As an exploratory and developing research, it was possible to lay down a foundation for further investigation about the social representation of sparkling wine in Brazil.

The different representations of sparkling wine, convergences and divergences between designation in Brazil and France

“…Champagne is also an important product in Brazil, but that is not the same origin. In another side, Brazilian consumers start to have more knowledge and consume more [5]. However, Champagne remains a prestigious product because of his reputation [2,30].…”

“…In other cases, non-traditional products have also gained market importance. This is the case of sparkling wine "moscatel" in Brazil [5,6] and "Crémants" in France, which are more accessible wine accessible [7].…”

Social Mobility and the Social Representation of Sparkling Wine in Brazil and France

“…Usually, older consumers prefer still wine, while young adults prefer sparkling wine [39] because of their different representations. Sparkling wine has different characteristics concerning types, countries, and segments [40,41], besides the different consumption contexts [13]. In the New World, sparkling wine is more associated with enjoyment and self-image, while in the Old World, it is more associated with tradition and the product itself [42].…”

“…Wine culture was established in the Old World, represented by European countries, and was later migrated to the New World [9]. Represented by colonized countries, such as Brazil, New-World wine is undergoing an expansion in production [10] and consumption [11,12], mainly in regard to sparkling wine, which has seen a significant increase in recent years [13,12]. In Brazil, the conventional sparkling wine market grew around 160% from 2005 to 2017, and Moscatel sparkling wine grew around 400% [13].…”