Venezuela is a very minor South American wine producer, and consumer, but tropical viticulture has been practised, mainly for table grapes, since the arrival of European immigrants at the end of the 19th century—although there is evidence that Jesuit missionaries first planted vines at Cumana in the 16th century, and vine-growers emigrated here from Baden in the early 19th century; see german history. According to oiv estimates, there were only about 1,000 ha/2,500 acres of vines in the early 21st century and a thriving dried-grape industry. Producers have tended to use grape concentrate or bulk wine imports as their raw material for products that range from lambrusco-like blends to base wines for sangría. Average temperatures are about 27 °C/81 °F, vine dormancy is impossible, and the two harvests per year are dictated by the rainy seasons. High elevations are necessary for the tropical viticulture practised. Bodegas Pomar is the only producer of note.
