After arriving in Bento Gonçalves the previous afternoon, this is a day to slow down and experience the Serra Gaúcha rather than simply pass through it. The morning follows Caminhos de Pedra, moving through the agricultural and cultural traditions of the region's Italian immigrant communities before settling in for a relaxed churrasco lunch. The afternoon then leaves the settled countryside behind for a drive into the deeper Serra and the valley of the Rio das Antas.
Caminhos de Pedra
The morning follows Caminhos de Pedra, a rural route through the hills outside Bento Gonçalves where stone houses, small farms, and family businesses preserve the character of the region's Italian settlement. The first stop is Casa do Tomate, built around the agricultural and colonial-food traditions that grew up alongside the vineyards. A short drive on, Casa da Erva-Mate Ferrari turns to a different thread of southern Brazilian culture entirely: a working mill building from 1884, restored to show the old process behind erva-mate and chimarrão.
At Vinícola Salvati & Sirena, the route turns to wine, with a guided half-hour tasting through the family's hand-built stone cellar — one of the few wineries anywhere still working with nearly forgotten grape varieties like Peverella, Goethe, and Barbera Piemonte rather than the usual Merlot and Cabernet. The final stop is Casa da Ovelha, an 1917 farmhouse built around sheep's-milk cheese, yogurt, and doce de leite — a chance to taste and stock up on a few before leaving Caminhos de Pedra behind.