Organic grape juice from São Roque surprises experts, scores over 90 points in a blind test, and wins a national award after six years of agroecological research.

Written by Viviane Alves

Published on 21/06/2026 at 15:55

Updated on 21/06/2026 at 15:56

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Produced with Bordô and Isabel grapes, beverage received platinum medal after competing in a national evaluation with 190 samples from different Brazilian regions

An organic grape juice produced in São Roque, in the interior of São Paulo, was recognized among the best in Brazil.

The beverage won the platinum medal in the first national contest promoted by the Brazilian Association of Enology.

The result was announced in April 2026, after a technical evaluation conducted in a blind test format.

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Six-year research proves viability of organic cultivation

The recognition represents the result of six years of studies, field tests, and technical monitoring of the vines.

Four harvests were collected during this period, allowing the evaluation of the plants’ adaptation to the conditions found in São Roque.

The results proved the viability of producing grapes without pesticides in the region.

The research was conducted by the Paulista Agency of Agribusiness Technology, through APTA Regional.

The project also had the participation of the Federal Institute and the Wine Industry Union of São Roque, Sindusvinho.

The initiative brought scientific knowledge closer to the practical experience accumulated in the field.

Experimental area gathers more than 1.3 thousand vines

The vineyard used in the project occupies approximately 4 thousand square meters.

More than 1.3 thousand vines are distributed in the area and are monitored during all stages of development.

The space also functions as an open-air classroom for students of the Enology course at the Federal Institute.

The students accompany the cultivation, harvest, and procedures employed in juice production.

The structure allows integrating academic training, scientific research, and activities carried out directly in the field.

Agroecological management reduces the use of chemical pesticides

The cultivation system uses agroecological practices to preserve the natural balance of the vineyard.

Spontaneous vegetation is maintained in alternating lines between the rows of vines.

One row preserves the grass and natural plants, while the next receives the necessary management.

This vegetation provides shelter for insects that help in the natural control of pests.

The method reduces the need for chemical pesticides during the development of the grapes.

The harvest is carried out manually, with the individual removal of each bunch.

Criteria such as color, texture, and level of sweetness are evaluated before the selection of the fruits.

Bordô and Isabel form the award-winning combination

The grapes undergo a controlled process of extraction and bottling after harvest.

The natural characteristics of the fruit are preserved during all stages of production.

According to Alex de Moraes, president of Sindusvinho, the award-winning flavor is related to the balance between two traditional varieties.

The beverage combines the grapes Bordô and Isabel in defined proportions during the product’s elaboration.

The combination directly contributed to the score achieved in the national competition.

Platinum medal recognizes scientific and rural work

The award won in 2026 concludes an important stage of the project started six years earlier.

The result highlights the union between scientific research, rural knowledge, academic training, and agroecological management.

The score above 90 also confirms the technical quality of the juice produced in the experimental area of São Roque.

The national recognition demonstrates how the monitoring of harvests and cultivation without pesticides favored the development of the beverage.

The platinum medal turns the project into a reference for organic grape production in the region.

In your opinion, can products developed with agroecological research gain more space in the Brazilian market? Leave your comment.

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Organic grape juice from São Roque surprises experts, scores over 90 points in a blind test, and wins a national award after six years of agroecological research.

Produced with Bordô and Isabel grapes, beverage received platinum medal after competing in a national evaluation with 190 samples from different Brazilian regions

Six-year research proves viability of organic cultivation

Experimental area gathers more than 1.3 thousand vines

Agroecological management reduces the use of chemical pesticides

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Bordô and Isabel form the award-winning combination

Platinum medal recognizes scientific and rural work

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Organic grape juice from São Roque surprises experts, scores over 90 points in a blind test, and wins a national award after six years of agroecological research.

Produced with Bordô and Isabel grapes, beverage received platinum medal after competing in a national evaluation with 190 samples from different Brazilian regions

Six-year research proves viability of organic cultivation

Experimental area gathers more than 1.3 thousand vines

Agroecological management reduces the use of chemical pesticides

Change in INSS reduces waiting time from 45 to 30 days, prioritizes pensions, revisions, and BPC, and could expedite over 100,000 stalled processes, while employees receive productivity bonuses and the government attempts to reduce a backlog that still exceeds 2.1 million requests.

Bordô and Isabel form the award-winning combination

Platinum medal recognizes scientific and rural work

In the cold desert of Ladakh, where it hardly rains, engineer Sonam Wangchuk created the ice stupa, a tower that freezes winter water and stores it for irrigating crops in the spring, a simple engineering feat that mimics nature.

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Chinese woman planted trees for decades while sand buried part of her house, received $5,000 from an American in 1999, and helped transform the desert into a forest of 8 million trees in China.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

Almost 6,000 residents live concentrated along a single street nearly 9 km long in the interior of Poland. Houses form a continuous row, and behind them, narrow agricultural strips emerge, creating one of the most unusual rural patterns in Europe.

Described by astronauts as one of the most unlikely natural phenomena on Earth, the Okavango Delta spreads over up to 15,000 square kilometers in the middle of the desert and transforms Botswana into a living labyrinth of channels, islands, and flooded areas.

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