The Pampa and the vineyard: gaucho´s natural and symbolic aspects in the identity´s constitution of “Vinhos da Campanha”’s terroir – RS/Brasil

The wine region of “Vinhos da Campanha” is located in southern Brazil, on the Uruguay borderline. The colonization’s process in the region was characterized by territorial disputes between Portuguese and Spanish people during the nineteenth century. From this miscegenation, ethnic influenced by Castilian, Portuguese and local Indians, is constituted a new social type, called “gaucho”. The “gaucho” is identified with the border region and connected to pastoralism and farms, using a bucolic form to landscape description. During the development of viticulture in the region, it is possible to observe the progressive incorporation of local elements in this terroir, by the use of images or figures of speech, which incorporate geomorphological aspects of the landscape, the Pampa biome, and symbolic factors, making mention of regional culture aspects and the gaucho. In this way, the text discuss how the producers are appropriating the values and factors to give identity to the local wine and its terroir, by the analyse of photography, iconography and language expressions; also understanding how the terroir is turning into an element of reading and affirmation of local identity.