IXe Congrs International des Terroirs vitivinicoles 2012 / IXe International Terroirs Congress 2012

The sparkling wine in the Brazilian industry. Analysis of its evolution based in the Conventions and the Knowledge Management Theories
Marcos CAVALCANTI1,*, Claudia Maria de HOLANDA2
1

Prof. Dsc. Program of Production Engineering (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro); member of the Board of the New Club of Paris. Cavalcanti Tel: 21 55 81625965 - E-mail: marcos@crie.ufrj.br; 2 Master in Production Engineering (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro); Bachelor in Social Communication (Federal University of Pernambuco). Holanda - Tel: 21 55 87480522 E-mail: holanda.claudia22@gmail.com ABSTRACT How Brazil, a country with little tradition in wine, has been demonstrating evolution precisely with the more sophisticated product of this industry, the sparkling wine? This article describes the processes that reinvented the Brazilian sparkling wine produced in the south of the country (Serra Gacha) based on two theories: Conventions and Knowledge Management. Although it is an industrial product, wine is not a product that obeys pre-established rules of elaboration. A fine wine does not fits Fordist standardization models, serialization or mass production. Wine needs knowledge and, for that matter, intuition. Technology, suitable climate, good raw material (grapes) and appropriate equipment are part of the effort, but they are not enough to produce good quality wines without the interference of man, his knowledge and sensitivity. The combination of technology, culture and local know-how is present in the idea of terroir, which is well studied in the Theory of the Conventions. This theory has an intrinsic relationship with agribusiness, using the notion of worlds of nature and principles correlated to explain the notion of quality endogenously, considering the interaction of actors involved in the process. We understand that in a bottle of wine, there are explicit and tacit knowledge. In the production and consumption of wine, there are immaterial and intangible factors, which led us to search authors related to the theory of Knowledge Management. The work goes through the sparkling wine production chain and investigates, in the chosen region, the relationship between technology, knowledge, characteristics of soil, grapes, professionals and the sparkling wine generated. Keywwords: Sparkling wine, Serra Gacha, Brazilian Wine, Conventions Theory, Knowledge Management. Mots-cls : Vin ptillant brsilien, Serra Gaucha, Thorie des conventions, Gestion des Connaissances. 1 INTRODUCTION The sparkling wine produced in Brazil has been winning prizes in major international competitions and has been increasing its domestic sales. Almost all production of about 11 million litters is consumed domestically. In addition to increasing the quantity produced and sold, some studies show that there has been a significant improvement in product quality, particularly in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where production began in the second decade of the twentieth century. But it was from the 2000s on, nearly 100 years later, that the Brazilian sparkling wine began to be prestigious in that range. This article investigates the causes that led to this significant improvement. In addition to the methods of production, technology and raw materials, it is observed that the immaterial aspects (brand, territory, know-how) were also a decisive factor in this process of value creation of the Brazilian sparkling wine. 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS The multiple case study, to show stronger data than those originated from a unique case study, was chosen as the most suitable method for this research. This article has relied on theoretical bases and also in the field research, accomplished during the year of 2011, in the Serra Gacha area, in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil south region. We understand that in the production and consumption of wine there are immaterial and intangible factors, which made coherent seeking for authors related to Knowledge Management Theory. To analyze the change in perception of the quality of Brazilian sparkling wine, we rely on the Theory of Conventions, for its intrinsic relationship with agribusiness. Definition of sampling Rio Grande do Sul state is responsible for 93% of Brazilian production of wine and it is produced in about 600 wineries and family canteens. Within the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the spatial area of research is the Serra Gaucha. There, we can find Vale dos Vinhedos (Valley of the Vineyards) area, which holds about 40% of all wine sold in Rio Grande do Sul (1) and is the first Geographical Indication (GI) of Brazil. In Serra Gaucha, we visited both wineries located in the Valley of the Vineyards and also its roundabouts, for their historical importance and their productions. 3 CHANGES IN PROCEDURES ALLOW BETTER USE OF 'TERROIR' In Brazil, 77% of the total volume produced are table wines (with American grapes). Only 13% are fine wines, made with 'Vitis vinifera'. The remainder is 9 - 28

IXe Congrs International des Terroirs vitivinicoles 2012 / IXe International Terroirs Congress 2012 composed of juices and other grape derivatives. The production in the state of Rio Grande do Sul also follows similar logic. Of the 325 million litters of wine produced in 2010 and derivatives, for example, 195 million were ordinary wines and only 24 million of fine wines (see Table 1).

YEA R WINE FROM VITIS VINIFERA 42,96 45,45 32,12 43,18 47,33 39,9 24,81

MILLONS LITERS TABLE WINES 313,7 226,08 185,08 275,25 287,44 205,42 195,27 OTHER DERIVATED FROM GRAPES 51,87 53,5 59,13 70,89 93,19 96,5 101,34 TOTAL

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

408,53 325,04 276,33 389,32 427,97 341,82 321,41

Table 1. Wine and derivated products in Rio Grande do Sul State (RS). Source: www.ibravin.org.br The production and consumption of sparkling wine produced in Serra Gacha increased from 15% to 20% annually over the past five years. The marketing of the beverage and the industry organization points to two dimensions conceptualized in the Conventions Theory (1) : the commercial and industrial. In the commercial nature, quality results from the operation of the market, when the actors directly evaluate the product during transactions, taking into account competition and the profit arising from objects. In the Industrial nature, the fundamental aspect is technical performance. The company must be operating with modern equipment, looking for excellence. The elevation of the standard of sparkling wine can be attributed to changes in farming procedures (choices of varieties of grapes and transport) and in the canteen (production). The new procedures have contributed to the better use of climate and soil conditions, notions related to the terroir. The climatic conditions of Serra Gacha - which do not favor the full maturation of grapes because of the rains at harvest time - lead to wines with high acidity and low alcohol, which are favorable characteristics precisely because the sparkling acidity promotes freshness, liveliness and balance to this beverage after the second fermentation. It was also necessary to change the mentality of the industry that valued quantity over quality. Three events were dividers: the creation of educational centers of winemaking from the 20s, the arrival of trained professionals through multinational corporations in the 70s and opening the market in the 90s. These facts influenced the behavior of who made use of careless techniques. In this period there was a significant increase of intellectual capital as a result of investment in education and training of technicians. The producers were realizing that the received wisdom of their 9 - 29 ancestors was not enough to keep them competitive. They decided to invest in training their staff and to seek professionals outside the family circle. Drucker (3), in 1999, understood that the work became increasingly based on knowledge. According to the author, the organization can offer the basic continuity that knowledge workers need to be effective. In this respect, North (4) argues that knowledge does not exist without people, and management skillsoriented means, above all, interact with those who are the carriers of knowledge. It is necessary to facilitate access to experts and get more 'mind work'. Another important aspect in this process of Brazilian sparkling wine improvement is the idea, emphasized by the Theory of Conventions, that the quality of a product is socially constructed (2). Allaire and Wolf (6) understand innovation in agrifood sector as the creation of knowledge underlying distribution of products. In Serra Gacha, producers started to organize themselves into groups and created representative institutions that were essential to exchange information and knowledge about the site and about new procedures, which contributed to strengthening the links between producers and increased confidence by the consumer. 4 CONCLUSIONS In Serra Gacha was a negligence especially during harvest and transport of grapes, which compromised the quality of sparkling wine. Today, in addition to technical improvement, there is a better use of the climatic conditions. Embrapa (7), with his research work, is essential for targeting the sector. The Ibravin (8), with function of dissemination and coordination, also contributes for the evolution of Brazilian wine, although there is a lack of actions at the national level.

IXe Congrs International des Terroirs vitivinicoles 2012 / IXe International Terroirs Congress 2012 It is not sufficient to have favorable environmental conditions without knowing compose them. There is a close relationship between the region (and its peculiarities of soil and climate), grapes, procedures and professionals involved with the product generated. Currently, producers have information on the varieties to be cultivated, considering the characteristics of a particular soil and climate, which preserves the typicity of the grape and therefore the wine. The professionals who work at various stages of the wine were looking for formally empowering, without being dependent exclusively on the knowledge of their ancestors, but also that knowledge has value. However, there was little development in rural areas. The first end of the chain, the farmer, in general, is poorly paid and poorly prepared, which ends up creating difficulties in other rings of the wine industry. Actions involving industries only be sustained by the joint government, representative of the various professionals and society as well. The Brazilian wine industry should seek to strengthen the agricultural sector, especially the figure of the farmer, instead of considering only the market or wine producer. There are dynamic and interests conflicting between farmers, wine producers and governmental spheres. Another point of consideration is on the tax burden. It is unreasonable that in a bottle of wine, half its price is taxes. The overhead rates applied from production to distribution of wine affect the performance of fermented Brazilian, which is still uncompetitive in relation on many imported from countries in South America and Europe. The Brazilian sparkling wine, however, even taxed equally, can be competitive with the imported ones. Domestic consumption has tripled from 2000 to 2010, facing competition from Italian prosecco, cava of the Spanish, sparkling Argentine and champagnes. The good performance of Brazilian sparkling wine can be attributed to constant quality and the possibility to compete with similar imported in various price ranges. The Salton wine, Chandon and Aurora Cooperative lead this growth, coupled with the emergence of many companies of small volumes. We can say that the improvement of the Serra Gacha Brazilian sparkling wine is attributed to changes in procedures that allowed the best use of natural conditions of soil and climate. However, there are problems relating to training and remuneration of the farmer and the high taxation of Brazilian wine. These facts reflect a still fragile policy sector, which does not provide a comprehensive planning, from farm to market. REFERENCES 1. APROVALE (http://www.valedosvinhedos.com.br, acessed in december/2011) 2. L. BOLTANSKI, L. THVENOT, 1991. De la justification : les conomies de la grandeur. Paris: Gallimard. The Sociology of critical capacity. In: European Journal of Social Theory. SAGE Publications, 1999. To characterize the universe of relations, Boltanski and Thvenot created the notion of greatness or pure and theoretical worlds. They are: 1) world of inspiration, 2) domestic world, 3) the world's opinion; 4) civic world; 5) industrial world, and 6) the world market. Each has principles or states of nature related. 3. P. DRUCKER, 1999. Desafios gerenciais para o sculo XXI. So Paulo: Pioneira. 4. K. NORTH, 2010. Gesto do conhecimento: um guia prtico rumo empresa inteligente. Rio de Janeiro: Qualitymark. 5. J. WILKINSON, 1999. Ensaios FEE, Porto Alegre, v.20, n.2, 64-80. 6. G. ALLAIRE, S. WOLF, 2004. Cognitive representations and institutional hybridity in agrofood innovation. In: Science, Technology and Human Values. Sage Publication. v. 29, n.4. Allaire and Wolf recognize the inseparability and mutual reinforcement of material resources (technology, media and genes, for example) and cognitive models (individual behaviors, investments, state policies, etc.) that constitute a sociotechnical paradigm. In addition to individual cognition and learning styles, refer to the structures and distribution of learning skills - for example, quality conventions which are in society. We believe that this notion of quality meets the world of wine, which combines tangible and intangible resources and also strongly relates to the environment where it is produced and who is involved in its preparation. 7. Embrapa Uva e Vinho http://www.cnpuv.embrapa.br/ 8. Ibravin http://www.ibravin.org.br/

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