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Read our Uruguay wine articles & features on the wine regions of Uruguay, including Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado, Carmelo and Rivera. The ultimate Uruguay Wine Guide.

Germán Bruzzone winemaker Garzon winery in Uruguay
Uruguay FeaturesUruguay Wine GuideWine

Granite & Garzón: Interview with Germán Bruzzone

by Amanda Barnes
written by Amanda Barnes

Maldonado wine region in Uruguay is quickly becoming known for making some of the most exciting coastal wines in South America today, and in part its due to its granite soils. In this Terroir Talk interview with Germán Bruzzone, winemaker at Bodega Garzón, we discuss the impact of granite on wines and how the Maldonado wine region has developed over the past 10 years.

Germán Bruzzone delves into the diverse terroir of Garzón and explains why they have split their vineyard into hundreds of parcels and plots, and discusses their winemaking style under the guidance of consultant winemaker Alberto Antonini.

Amanda Barnes interviews Germán about his own experiences in helping build the incredible reputation of Garzón’s wines and they taste through two emblematic varieties for the winery and region: Tannat and Albariño from their exclusive Single Vineyard range.

 

Granite & Maldonado:

Terroir Talk with Germán Bruzzone of Bodega Garzón

 

Taste along with us: Uruguayan Albariño & Tannat

Bodega Garzon single vineyard Tannat wine tasting notes and interviewBodega Garzón Single Vineyard Tannat 2017

This beautiful Tannat displays all the energy and verve you can expect from prime terroir in Maldonado: filled with aromas of fresh cherries and raspberries as well as layers of tobacco, cacao and violet with a bracing finish and a fine, peppery spine of tannin.

This is a Tannat that you can easily drink by itself, but it would also pair wonderfully with white and red meats, or even oily fish.

  • Sustainable, Vegetarian
  • Winemaker: Germán Bruzzone and Alberto Antonini
  • Alcohol (ABV): 14.5 %
  • Acidity: 5.2 g/l
  • Residual sugar: 3.5 g/l
  • pH: 3.71

 

Bodega Garzón Single Vineyard Albariño 2019

Bodega Garzon Albarino Single Vineyard best wines from MaldonadoTangy coastal Albariño has become Bodega Garzón’s calling card and one of the most renowned white wines in Uruguay, and this wine exemplifies what’s so wonderful about Maldonado Albariño.

With delicate notes of white peach, lemon zest and blossom on the nose, this wine’s real personality comes out in the palate: with mouth-watering acidity, a tangy salinity, complex layers of spice and savoury notes, and a long, aromatic finish. It’s exciting stuff!

  • Sustainable, Vegetarian
  • Winemaker: Germán Bruzzone and Alberto Antonini
  • Alcohol (ABV): 13.5 %
  • Acidity: 6.6 g/l
  • Residual sugar: 2.7 g/l
  • pH: 3.25

 

Read more about Garzón winery in our winery guide.
Read more about the Maldonado wine region in our guide to Uruguayan wine.
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Wine tourism in times of Covid, Susana Balbo winery
Travel UruguayTravel ArgentinaTravel ChileUruguay FeaturesChile FeaturesArgentina FeaturesTravel & Culture

Wine travel in times of Covid: Wine tourism in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay

by Amanda Barnes
written by Amanda Barnes

It’s been a rather impossible year for wine tourism with most of Latin America closed off to the world for a large part of 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, as the Covid-19 infection rate begins to get under control wineries are beginning to open their doors in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, welcoming local tourists now and preparing to welcome foreign tourists in the months to come.

 

This article will be updated on a rolling basis:

Wine tourism in Uruguay

Artesana winery open for lunches
Artesana winery open for lunches

Uruguay is not yet open to international tourism with restrictions still in place to curb any spread of Covid-19. With a population of just 3.5 million people Uruguay usually relies on the 2.5 million foreign tourists they receive a year for most of its tourism activities, although many wineries in Uruguay and open for local tourists.

“We are entering a rather strange summer without tourists!” explains Pia Carrau about her family’s winery which is the most-visited in northern Uruguay, Bodega Cerro Chapeau. Most of the tourists in Rivera are usually coming from Brazil and with Uruguay’s closed border at the moment, any travel between countries is restricted.

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Guide to Maldonado wines and the wines of Uruguay
BeyondFeatured PostsUruguay FeaturesUruguay Wine GuideWine

A guide to Uruguay’s Maldonado wine region

by Amanda Barnes
written by Amanda Barnes

The Maldonado wine region of Uruguay is one of the continent’s most exciting — offering a distinctive style of refreshing coastal wines. Get to grips with the unique terroir and delicious wines of Maldonado in our quintessential guide.

 

 

Guide to Maldonado Wine Region
Notable Producers in Maldonado
Quick Guide to Maldonado
Best Wines to try from Maldonado
Map of Maldonado

 

 

Guide to Maldonado wine region & its refreshing coastal wines

Maldonado is a region of great contrasts. On the one hand, there’s the ostentatious seaside resort of Punta del Este, home to some of the most luxurious hotels and wealthiest casinos in Latin America and on the other, there is sweeping farmland with modest homes and tiny villages, which seem to have remained grounded in the last century.

While I’m not a fan of the superficial veneer that makes Punta del Este stand out in sharp juxtaposition to the otherwise authentic and unassuming charm that Uruguay exudes elsewhere, millions of people are. In fact the population of this elite playground known as the ‘St Tropez of Latin America’ swells fivefold every summer.

Punta del Este and Maldonado, a guide to visiting the wine region and the wines of Uruguay

A major silver lining to having ‘St Tropez’ on your doorstep is that the huge tourism industry is a great bedfellow for Uruguay’s wine industry, and Punta del Este is the main market for Uruguay’s wineries. The growing wine route in Maldonado has also developed thanks to this steady stream of affluent tourists cruising in. Fortunately for them, Maldonado is home to some of Uruguay’s most exciting wines today, which have completely revitalised the wines and image of the country as a whole.

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Guide to Uruguayan Tannat wine
Featured PostsUruguay FeaturesUruguay Wine GuideWine

Tannat Guide: The champion of Uruguayan wine

by Amanda Barnes
written by Amanda Barnes

Tannat is the champion grape variety of Uruguayan wine, but how did this red variety become the most planted in Uruguay? In our Tannat guide we explore the history of Tannat in Uruguay, what Tannat tastes like, and where it best grows.

Tannat Guide
Tannat by Terroir
Tasting Uruguayan Tannat
Tannat Wine Pairings

 

Tannat Guide: Key Uruguayan Tannat facts

Hectares planted of Tannat in Uruguay

1,610 hectares

Key Tannat wine descriptors

Deep violet colour. Black plums, raspberries, liquorice & spice aromas. Dry, mouthwatering acidity (medium + ), grippy tannins (high) and full body.

Tannat winemaking styles

Traditionally Tannat was given a long extraction with at least a year’s barrel ageing and another year in bottle, but modern styles use gentle maceration techniques and some have no oak influence at all. Usually 13-14%

 

Tannat found a natural affinity with the Uruguayan climate and with over 1,600 hectares dedicated to the variety around Uruguay’s different wine regions, there’s a huge diversity of styles of Tannat to discover. Although Tannat originates in South West France, it has unquestionably made Uruguay its home — and, with some of the best single-variety Tannat wines in the world, Uruguay has mastered Tannat.

 

Tannat Guide: Uruguay’s heavyweight champion

It was no coincidence that of all the vinifera varieties, it is Tannat that has emerged as Uruguay’s champion. “We didn’t choose Tannat, Tannat chose us!” is the simple explanation from winemaker Reinaldo de Lucca. The thick skins of this variety originally from the Basque region of France are resistant to the humid conditions and hardier to changes in vintage, delivering good quality wines year on year — suiting Uruguay’s changeable coastal climate down to a tee.

Tannat’s resistant nature — able to handle heavy rain and drought, while always delivering acidity, colour and aroma — meant it survived throughout the 20th century, always adding value to a grower’s vineyard, even alongside the busty hybrid varieties that were popular throughout much of the 20th century. It has remained a staple in Uruguay’s vineyards ever since Pascual Harraigue first introduced it to the country in the 1870s (and is still often called Harriague after its pioneer).

When Uruguay converted to quality wine production from the 1970s onwards, international consultants and flying winemakers were quick to advise the wineries to keep their Tannat vines and make it the champion of Uruguay. According to flying winemaker from New Zealand Duncan Killiner, who started consulting in Uruguay in 1996:

Tannat’s always been the star of Uruguay. The variety just works really well there, and performs well in all of the regions every vintage.”

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