Uruguay as a Wine Region
The Rising Star in Wine Industry
Most of you might be aware that Uruguay is the fourth-largest wine producer in the South American Continent.
While the country has already become an important wine producer in South America, several of the wine critics are describing it as the rising star in the global wine industry.
This iconic grape is found to be the major reason for the country’s rise in the global wine industry. Now, let’s see about the viticulture and viniculture of Uruguay in detail here…
A Quick Look at the History of the Wine Industry in Uruguay
Although the first instances of vine culture in Uruguay are not known, we can see that the history of Uruguay’s modern wine industry is dating back to over 250 years.
It was around the year 1870 that the first Tannat vine plants were brought to Uruguay immigrants of Basque.
It is being said that the Tannat vines were introduced by Don Pascual Harriague, who is also a Basque. However, it was only during the second half of the 19th century the commercial production of wine started here.
It’s to be noted that the country was about two centuries behind Chile and Argentina in the wine industry. But, I would say that the country has emerged steadily in the world of wines with a promise of giving some amazing wines to the wine lovers.
A Short Note on Uruguay’s Viticulture
We could see that the majority of Uruguayan wines are produced from the grapes being cultivated in the southern parts of the country, especially in the following departments:
- San José
We can also observe some viticultural activities in the western parts, more particularly along the Argentinean borders. As a whole, we could see that there are viticultural activities in 15 of 19 departments in the country.
List of Uruguayan Departments with Vineyards
Wines and Vines of Uruguay
As I mentioned earlier, Tannat is the most important grape variety of Uruguay which is forming almost 36% of the total wine grape cultivation in the country.
This is a robust and tannic red grape variety from which the most powerful wines with higher contents of alcohol and with lower levels of acidity were produced.
We can say that the Tannat variety in all forms is more suitable to the climatic conditions of the South American Continent. In fact, the conditions here are much better than the place of origin of this variety – the Madiran vineyards in the southwestern part of France.
What apart from Tannat can be seen in Uruguay? Well, it can be guessed easily. Almost all the newly developing wine regions are seen cultivating the commercially successful Vitis vinifera vines and Uruguay is not exceptional in this.
Thus, the country is cultivating the following Bordeaux grape varieties:
These varieties have acquired an important spot in the dry red wine category of Uruguay. Aromatic Viognier is also more popular among the country’s grape varieties in addition to the Muscat Hamburg variety, which is more important in the bulk rose wine production.
Wine Classification in Uruguay
We can see that there are two levels in the classification of Uruguayan wines, which are:
- Vino de calidad preferente: This is the quality wine category and these wines must be produced using Vitis vinifera varieties.
- Vino común: This is the table wine category.
G D Vajra – Langhe Nebbiolo 2010-13 75cl Bottle€23.51 Find Merchant
Cazes – Muscat de Rivesaltes 2009 12x 37.5cl Half Bottles€105.24 Find Merchant
Bruno Rocca – Barbaresco Rabaja 2009 6x 75cl Bottles€351.36 Find Merchant
Martini – Prosecco 75cl Bottle€19.12 Find Merchant
Bruno Rocca – Barbaresco 2009 6x 75cl Bottles€223.63 Find Merchant
Deltetto – Langhe Favorita Servaj 2012 6x 75cl Bottles€62.82 Find Merchant
G D Vajra – Langhe Rosso ‘PN Q497’ 2008 75cl Bottle€29.03 Find Merchant
Domaine de Durban – Leydier et Fils, Muscat, Beaume de Venise 2013 75cl Bottle€19.94 Find Merchant
Fontanafredda – Briccotondo Gavi 2013 75cl Bottle€17.70 Find Merchant
Cazes – Muscat de Rivesaltes 2008 6x 75cl Bottles€123.05 Find Merchant
I am Tharani, I have Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. I am passionate about the wine industry and continue to explore, learn and share and I bring in a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep updated with best wines in the world. Stay tuned..
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