Uruguay

Uruguayan wines: discover how big a small country can be.

This small country in South America has an ever-growing wine industry, producing wines that – little by little – are gaining well-deserved recognition among the most demanding wine enthusiasts.

Uruguay has 6 well-defined wine regions: Litoral Norte, Litoral Sur, Metropolitana, Centro, Oceánica and Norte. 90% of the country’s vineyards belong to the Southern region. Maldonado, Colonia and Canelones represent some of the areas with the largest number of vine plantations.

Just as Malbec represents Argentina, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère represent Chile, Tannat represents Uruguay. The clay soils of this country, in combination with the sea breeze coming from the Atlantic, allow this variety – the most widely planted there – to develop its full potential. Tannat winemaking volumes in Uruguay today surpass even those of Southwest France, the grape variety’s place of origin.

This grape offers full-bodied wines, with sweet and marked tannins, which make them ideal for barrel aging. When combined with other varieties, the blends of Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat and Cabernet Franc and Tannat and Merlot are interesting.

In addition to wines produced from its flagship red grape variety, Uruguay develops excellent varietal wines from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan, Pinot Noir and Syrah.

As for Uruguayan white wines, there are excellent examples of Moscatel, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, among others.

If you ever want to taste some of these varieties, learn more about their history, their characteristics and delight yourself with their flavor, do not hesitate to contact me.