The emerging Brazilian wine industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Brazilian wine industry's capacity for sustained development in an increasingly internationalized competitive environment. The focus is on the Serra Gaúcha wine cluster, where over 80 per cent of the country's wine is produced. Design/methodology/approach This case study is descriptive in nature and makes use of secondary sources, in‐depth interviews and survey‐based data in order to describe the cluster and analyse the different factors associated with sustained competitiveness. The conceptual base that guided the analysis draws on the notion of cluster and its role in the creation of sustainable competitive advantages, with special emphasis on cooperative actions that enhance learning and innovation within the cluster. Findings In spite of several weaknesses of the industry and of the challenges posed by an unfavourable international environment, this paper provides both qualitative and quantitative evidences that a series of underlying conditions for the sustainable development of the industry are present in the Serra Gaúcha wine cluster. Originality/value The paper is purposefully descriptive and wide in scope as it analyses an as yet little known outside of Brazil and little researched wine cluster; this provides both academic value, as it establishes a basis for the development of more focused research as well as comparative studies with wine clusters from other countries, and practical value for the actors of the cluster, as it highlights important implications for both collective and firm‐level actions.