O Fournier winery was founded in 2000 in the Uco Valley by Spanish banker José Manuel Ortega who also founded other wine estates in Spain and in Chile. In 2018, the winery was acquired by Finca Agostino in 2018.
O Fournier winery has some of the most distinctive architecture in South America’s wine regions and has a practical and stylish gravity flow system.
Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio winery is the ambitious project of young Uruguayan entrepreneurs and power couple Marcelo Conserva and Natalia Welker who founded a 52 hectare estate just 10 km from the coast, near the gorgeous beach town of José Ignacio. With 8 hectares of Chardonnay, Albariño, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Tannat vines, they have a growing portfolio of refreshing coastal wines and have an impressive olive grove and olive oil production too. You can visit the winery for wine and olive oil tasting, as well as exploring the beautiful architecture and design of the estate.
The stunning coastal Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio winery is the vision of young entrepreneurs Marcelo and Natalia who decided to start a family winery and olive grove in 2012 by purchasing a large, 52-hectare estate in Maldonado. Their first vineyards were of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot, and within a few years they planted Albariño and Tannat too – taking the total vineyard up to 8 hectares today.
With a keen eye for design, Marcelo and Natalia focused on building a modern and attractive winery and olive mill which has modern art displays and award-winning architecture.
The sustainable design of the winery is both functional and aesthetic: a large conical shape which emerges from the ground and takes advantage of gravity for more gentle wine processing and production, limiting the use of pumps. The walls are also carefully designed to allow for natural lighting to work in the cellar without requiring much electricity.
Located off the coast in Maldonado, the Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio vineyards are barely 10 kilometres as the crow flies from the Atlantic coast and have a significant maritime impact with regular coastal breezes and cool nights.
This extremely maritime climate means that the grapes mature slower than in other regions of the country which are typically further inland and the wines are typically refreshing with bright acidity and a mineral, saline note typical of the region.
Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio winery has 8 hectares of vineyards planted today with Albariño, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Tannat and Merlot. The soils are comprised of sand, lime and clay with a vein of calcareous soil in the deepest sectors which reaches to the crystalline basement.
With six wines in the portfolio so far, Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio wines are all focused on fresh fruit expression and the coastal terroir. Bright, mineral and with refreshing acidity, they are all elegant and energetic wines.
The first wine Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio released was a dry, Pinot Noir rosé which quickly became renowned in nearby José Ignacio village and Punta del Este city becoming a summer essential wine in local restaurants and bars!
Today they sell it by the magnum, as well as regular-sized bottles. Their Albariño has also become an iconic wine of theirs.
Although born in Stellenbosch, in the heart of the Cape winelands, Hans Vinding Diers moved to Bordeaux as a child and grew up in the chateaux learning winemaking with his father and their family properties.
Since then he has become a well-travelled and respected flying winemaker, having worked in many different countries and become a specialist in South American wines notably in Patagonia and Mendoza in Argentina, as well as Uruguay today. He has been making the wines for Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio since the beginning of the project.
“Art sneaks in a lot when you are blending a wine, it’s like mixing colours in some ways,” says Hans Vinding Diers. “In my wines I try to achieve a purity and an authenticity, and that is my goal with these wines: to give an honest expression of what the land produces and have respect for these elements.”
Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio winery is open daily for visits and you can stop by the wine shop anytime between 10am and 6pm.
If you want to do a tour of the winery and tasting of the wines and olive oils, booking in advance is recommended. Leave plenty of time after your tasting and tour to take in the sculpture garden which includes works by some of Uruguay’s best-known artists Pablo Atchugarry, Octavio Podesta, Ricardo Pascale, Enrique Broglia and Giorgio Carlevaro.
There are a couple options for visits to choose from, and they need to be booked at least 24 hours in advance:
Visit the Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio winery and olive mill to learn all about the winemaking and olive oil making process. Afterwards there’s a special tasting of the Jose Ignacio wines as well as their O’33 olive oils over a sharing board of local charcuterie and homemade bread, on the terrace overlooking the vineyards.
After the tour and tasting, you can talk a walk around the estate and visit the vineyards, olive groves, organic garden, lake and sculpture garden.
The visit lasts around 2.5 hours and costs US$50 per person
You can visit the Bodega Oceánica José Ignacio winery and see the process of winemaking, before returning to the terrace for a tasting of the wines accompanied by their homemade bread and olive oils.
Afterwards, you are welcome to take a tour of the vineyards, sculpture garden, lake and organic garden. The visit lasts around 1.5 hours and costs US$25 per person.
Pèrez Cruz winery was founded in 2002 and has quickly become one of the great references for wines in Alto Maipo. Viña Pèrez Cruz has some 240 hectares of vines and a handsome winery in Maipo where they produce their portfolio of red wines which include the classics – Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère – but also single-variety Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Grenache and Syrah, with many blends in between.
Viña Montes is an icon of Colchagua, producing some of the best-known wines in the region and beyond. Although Montes is associated with the Montes family, the production and Montes winery is actually owned by several associates who today claim over 700 hectares of vineyards. In recent years, Aurelio Montes Snr handed over winemaking duties to his son Aurelio Jnr who now heads up the team in Apalta who makes wines from all over Chile.
The Montes winery has Feng Shui architecture and angels hanging in the barrel room which makes it an interesting visit. Stay for lunch at the great Fuegos de Apalta restaurant overlooking the stunning Apalta hillsides and vineyards.