The building where Cia Mônaco used to be was a reference in the city center for a long time, and today it no longer exists. The winery was founded by the brothers Horácio and Lourenço Mônaco, Italian winemakers, who migrated in 1901 to Argentina, working with assistance in different wineries.

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In 1908, the brothers settled in Bento Gonçalves, where they introduced a series of technologies that were not used by local settlers in the cultivation of grapes and wine production, such as filters, grape crushers (replacing foot treading), pumps , addition of sugar and tannin and methods of conservation and hygiene. In addition, Lourenço held conferences and wrote for newspapers in Porto Alegre about his knowledge in the sector.

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In 1916, the director of Banco Pelotense proposed to Lourenço the lease of a canteen that belonged to the bank, founding L. Mônaco & Cia, which operated the canteen A Lucta, in which the Vinho Único was developed.

In 1918, Horacio joined the company. From 1920, serving nationally and internationally, the company became Lourenço & Horácio Mônaco and started to have warehouses for sale in all the states of Brazil. In order to avoid counterfeiting wines sold in barrels, the company began selling the Vinho Único only under bottling, protected with paper and straw and accommodated in wooden boxes.

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In 1929, the company participated in the foundation of the Sociedade Vinícola Rio-Grandense, together with other wineries, with the objective of creating a society that offered support to winemakers, focusing on the purchase, manufacture and sale of wine.

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In 1931, Francisco Brasil Mônaco, son of Horácio, traveled to Italy to study viticulture in order to maintain the company, returning 15 years later. Upon his return, he realized how the scenario had evolved, but he recalls issues debated by his uncle and father years before, regarding the production of wine with the Isabel grape. For him, the precursor raw material in Brazil, making it irreplaceable for the national market.

Sources:

CAPRARA, Bernadette Schiavo; LUCHESE, Terciane Angela. From Dona Isabel Colony to the Municipality of Bento Gonçalves 1875 to 1930 - Bento Gonçalves: VISOGRAF; Porto Alegre: CORAG - Companhia Riograndense de Artes Gráficas, 2005

DAL PIZZOL, Rinaldo; SOUSA, Sergio Inglez de. Memories of Gaucho Wine - Vol. 1

FROM PARIS, Assunta. History of the Monaco Company. 2013, Available at: < https ://jornal Semanario.com.br/historico-da-companhia-monaco/ > Accessed at: 02/25/2021.

ROMAN, Cirilo M. Competitive Intelligence as a Diffuser of Strategic Action: diagnosis of the wine sector in Bento Gonçalves - RS. 2001. Dissertation (Executive Masters) - Brazilian School of Public Administration, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro - RJ.