ENJOYING wine is by no means a singular experience and during the 2014 FIFA World Cup that kicks off today, when host nation Brazil takes on Croatia, I know many wine lovers will be celebrating with their favorite wine.

With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to view the World Cup through the prism of a glass of wine. Is it possible to predict the winner based on the wine prowess of the competing nations? Let’s take a look at notable wine-producing nations that have a shot at taking home the trophy.

The host

Brazil may well be the world’s greatest football nation. Legends of the past like Pele, Ronaldinho, Socrates, Zico, Ronaldo and others have lifted the nation to the pantheon of football. They’re so great that each is globally recognizable with a single name. No one will argue the football qualities of Brazil, but what about their wines?

Brazil is the third-largest South American wine producer after Argentina and Chile with over 1,100 wineries, mostly situated in the cooler southern areas of the country. The former colonizer and football rival nation Portugal introduced viticulture and winemaking to Brazil in the 1530s, making Brazil one of the oldest New World producers.

Popular white varieties include Trebbiano, Chardonnay, Semillion and Muscat while favored red varietals are Barbera, Bonardo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Sirah and Syrah.

Much of the wine is fresh, fruity and easy-to-drink, though some fellow wine judges from South America insist to me that some serious wines are being made.

You may be surprised to learn that there’s an official World Cup wine. The wine chosen to represent this year’s competition is from the Brazilian boutique winery Lidio Carraro. In celebration of the honor, the winery created a new line of wines called Faces that will be the only wine in the world to sport the official FIFA World Cup logo on its label. It would be fun to taste this wine, but good luck finding it in Shanghai.

Playing at home with supremely talented players, Brazil has to be favored to win the World Cup for an unprecedented sixth time.

It will take a promethean effort to keep the trophy out of Brazilian hands but here are some wine nations that have a fighting chance.

The big three

The unquestioned big three of the wine world are Italy, France and Spain. They are the three biggest producers with many of the world’s greatest and most admired wines. They are also very formidable football nations all having won recent World Cup competitions. The smallest producer of the three is also the nation that may well have the best chance to hoist the 2014 World Cup trophy.

Spain topped the European qualifying group I with 20 points and has won all the major football competitions including the most recent World Cup in South Africa in 2010. They are the top-ranked team in the world with superb passing skills.

So your winning wine this year may well be Spanish. I recommend enjoying a Spanish CAVA sparkler before the game, a nice Albarino or Verdejo white during the first half and getting serious with a Tempranillo red wine from Rioja, Ribera del Duero or Toro as the Spanish team passes their opponents to death.

Tactically strong and experienced, in form Italy topped the European qualifying group II with 22 points. Players like Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Daniele de Rossi have the requisite confidence and skill to make a strong showing in the competition and just possibly steal the trophy.

So you can’t be blamed for enjoying one of the many wonderful Italian wines available in Shanghai while you watch the games. Start light in early games with glasses of Prosecco sparkling wines and slightly chilled Chianti and Barbera reds, then as Italy moves deeper into the competition celebrate the big games with Franciacorta traditional method sparklers and big bold Barolo, Brunello and Super Tuscan wines. Even if Italy doesn’t win it all, you palate will be celebrating.

Picking a good French wine is pretty easy, but trying to figure out the French football team since their historic World Cup win in 1998 has been exceedingly difficult. Four years later in Japan and South Korea they didn’t win a single game!

Perhaps the coach Didier Deschamps, who was part of the champion 1998 team, can instill some cohesion and purpose in his squad, but I do suggest passionate “Les Bleus” fans stock up on plenty of good French wine just in case. The perfect French wine has to be Champagne, because as Champagne-loving Winston Churchill paraphrased Napolean on the qualities of this legendary bubbly, “In victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it.”

Neighborly challengers

Perhaps the greatest threats to Brazilian aspirations this year come from fellow South American football nations Argentina and Chile. If Spain isn’t the biggest threat to Brazil, then Argentina may well be. Argentina qualified at the top of the South American qualifying group and has Lionel Messi the four-time world footballer of the year who’s generally considered the world’s best player. Stoutly supporting him are internationally renowned players like Pablo Zabaleta, Erik Lamela, Frabrico Coloccini and Sergio Aguero.

Make no mistake; the 2014 Argentinean squad is a very dangerous team with as much talent as anyone. Therefore the most appropriate to celebrate this year’s competition may be to adorn yourself in blue and white and drink two quintessentially Argentinean wines, the fragrant Torrontes white wine and hearty Malbec red from Mendoza.

Chile has never won the World Cup, but in 1962 when it hosted the game it finished third. Ranked 12th in the world, Chile has an attractive attacking style but is also known to concede its fair share of goals. As long as fans are well-stocked with world-class Chilean wines like Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay whites and Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon reds, their team will still have a fighting chance.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention three-time champion Germany and also Portugal. Germany makes the world’s best Riesling white wines and has a disciplined and athletic team. They are a real threat, especially if there’s a penalty shoot-out. In major competitions it’s been 37 years since Germany lost a shoot-out!

Caipirinha recipe

Ingredients:

2 ounces of Brazilian cachaca

1 green lime (medium size)

1 lemon

2 teaspoons of coarse granulated sugar (preferably pure sugarcane sugar)

Crushed ice

Wood pestle

1 short tumbler (short and wide glass also called Old Fashioned)

Sharp knife and cutting board

1 short straw

Preparations:

1. Rinse well and dry the lime (you should not peel the lime).

2. Cut off the top and bottom ends of the lime. Cut the lime in half. Cut a V-shaped groove in each half and remove the central pithy (white) part of the lemon. Slice each half in 6 or 8 smaller pieces.

3. Place the lemon wedges in the tumbler. Add 2 teaspoons of coarse granulated sugar.

4. Grind the lime and sugar with a wood pestle so as to press the juice out of the lime and release some of the citrus oil from the lemon rind. Grinding well is very important to get the flavor.

5. Add the crushed ice. Add the cachaca. Stir well. Drink it with a straw.