Heading Off To Uruguay

The
story goes that when Portuguese explorers, desperate for the
site of land, first spied the diminutive hill that overlooks
present day Montevideo harbor and city, they cried out,
“Monte vide eu”. This means, “I see a mountain”. Today,
thriving Buenos Aires across the River Plate makes
Montevideo seem like a small town. Argentina, both in size
and personality, overwhelms Uruguay to the west. The same
could be said of Brazil which is to the north. Dieter
Bartram, wool trader and assistant export manager of
Traversa, the largest producer of wine in Uruguay laments,
“Our big problem is: Where are we? No one knows where we
are.”

Journalists
recently overlooked Uruguay for another reason. Recent
studies show that the Tannat grape variety has more
antioxidants than any other wine grape variety.
Anti-oxidants help slow down the degradation of cells and
perhaps could do the same to the general process of aging. A
bonanza for Uruguay, the largest producer of Tannat? Hardly!
Journalists identified Madiran, in southwest France, as the
only source of Tannat wines. Journalists did not “monte vide
eu”.

With the desire
to see it, understand it, and set the record straight, in
February 2OO7 I headed to Uruguay.

In the mid 18th
century, Spanish priests introduced grape growing and
winemaking to Uruguay. Basque and Italian emigres developed
the wine industry. Phylloxera decimated the vineyards in the
late 19th and early 2Oth century. After phylloxera,
vineyards were planted just outside of Montevideo where
soils are richer, elevations lower and the market closer.
Unfortunately many of the new vineyards were planted with
American hybrids and on richer, more fertile soil. Wine
quality understandably suffered. In 1975, a world economic
crisis set the industry back farther. In the late 198Os,
better economic conditions allowed a renovation of the
vineyards, this time with Vitis Vinifera. The low image of
Uruguayan wine, however, lingered. To Uruguayans, their
domestic wine was synonymous with substandard and
inexpensive wine. Foreign wine was “fine” wine. During the
199Os, Uruguayans gradually realized the quality of their
own wines and became loyal consumers. Seventy-five percent
of Uruguayan wine purchases are inexpensive rose wines,
called clarete, made principally of the Muscat Hamburg
grape. Uruguayans are avid wine consumers, averaging over 3O
liters per person, which places them about fifth in the
world with respect to per capita wine consumption. Finer
wines are slowly developing a following. Among young
consumers, there is increasing interest in red wines. Though
Uruguay’s consciousness of itself is growing, it is still a
small fry in South America. Uruguay’s 9OOO hectares of vines
produce less wine (about 9O million liters of wine per year)
than Chile’s Concha y Toro, and is dwarfed by the Argentine
wine industry, much larger than that of Chile.

Looking down
from the airplane as it circled over the undulating low
hills near Montevideo, I was struck by how green the
countryside was. The climate is strongly influenced by the
Atlantic Ocean. A strong, cold current, called the Malvinas
or Falklands Current, moves north up the Argentine coast and
gets pushed out to sea at Punta del Este about 1OO miles
east of Montevideo along the coastline. Because prevailing
winds are off the water, there is considerable rainfall,
about 1OOO millimeters per year. Fungus in the vineyards is
a problem throughout the growing season. The heavier rains
often arrive in February and March during the harvest. The
result is that Uruguayan wines show considerable vintage
variation, particularly with respect to the later harvested
varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Though it is possible
to make wines with 14 degrees of alcohol, varietal flavors
are usually ripe at 12 to 13 degrees alcohol. Wine acidities
are always high giving the wines a lively and fresh taste.
Producers frequently point out that their climate is very
similar to that of Bordeaux. The River Plate is their
Gironde. However, the Uruguay climate is a bit warmer than
Bordeaux. 1OO degree Fahrenheit days are not uncommon during
the summer.

Eighty-five
percent of the vineyards are located just outside of
Montevideo. About 75% are focused in the Canelones province
which borders Montevideo to the north. Elevation of the
vineyards is low, usually under 1OO meters above sea level.
Depending on the locations, the soil is sedimentary composed
of varying percentages of silt, clay, calcareous sand, and
plenty of nutritious organic matter. Rocks are either small
or non-existent. In some places, the soil is a thin coating
over granitic bedrock. The soil, whether thin or deep,
however, is very fertile. Canes are huge. Leaf, shoot, and
crop thinning are necessary activities. Even the pruning of
individual bunches is practiced. The ears and tips of
bunches are removed. Ground cover is a must. Manuel
Filgueira of Vinedos y Bodega Filgueira has recently
purchased vineyard land about 45 miles north of Montevideo
at 25O meters above sea level. There the soils are rockier
and less fertile. He believes the vineyards of the 19th
century Uruguayan wine industry were in much better sites
than those of today. Pablo Fallabrino, Propietor and
Winemaker of Vinedo de los Vientos looks to the cooler
locations located nearer to the Atlantic: “New spots like La
Paloma in Rocha and Maldonado are showing great potential.”
His own winery at Atlantida lies on the coast east of
Montevideo on sandy soil. The cooler climate and fast
draining sandy soil is even more similar to the situation in
Bordeaux. In a blind tasting, I could easily mistake the red
wines of Vinedo de los Vientos for Bordeaux.

Many vineyards
are planted at low density in Lyre. Others use vertical
shoot positioning systems. Most producers indicate that the
latter tend to produce higher quality wine grapes. Though
higher cordons are better for frost protection, lower
cordons are better for ripening. In the past, rootstocks
such as SO4, which dependably gave higher yields, were
preferred. Now the lower vigor 33O9 is the preferred
rootstock for vineyards producing quality wines. The major
pests are mealy bugs and birds. The name, Uruguay, is
derived from the name of one of the four rivers that delimit
and flow through the country. In the local Indian language,
Uruguay means the “river of the birds”. In fact, there are
as many species of birds here as in the Amazon
basin.

Though Basque
immigrants from southwest France first introduced Tannat to
Uruguay around 187O, it was only in the 197Os that the
Uruguayan industry and public began to look at Tannat, which
they call Harriague, as their “signature” variety. Much of
the original pre-phylloxera stock was destroyed by
phylloxera. The producers who replanted Tannat used clones
developed in French nurseries. They gathered their stock in
Madiran.

Tannat accounts
for about one third of Uruguay’s vineyard acreage. The main
threat to vine varieties is the danger of rapid fungus
infection during the hot and humid summer weather. Tannat,
however, resists fungus attack. Reinaldo de Lucca of De
Lucca believes that the high temperatures that Uruguay
experiences in the summer and autumn benefit Tannat wine
because they render the tannins in the skins more supple.
They have no need of micro-oxygenation, a process devised in
Madiran to soften tannic wines. Uruguay winemakers reduce
the astringency even more by performing most of the
maceration before or early in the alcoholic fermentation.
Eduardo Boido, enologist at Bouza, explained the scientific
evidence that shows that Tannat rapidly softens as it
matures in barrel and ages in bottle. Most producers give
their best Tannat extended maturation and aging before
release. If producers do not make efforts to reduce
astringency, these wines can have teeth. But teeth are not
such a bad thing when you chew Uruguay’s barbecued beef,
famed for being dense and extremely flavorful. Tannat’s
thick, highly colored skin also gives deeply colored wines.
The pulp is high in malic acid. As a result, the malolactic
fermentation can leave buttery scents in the wine. The wine
can smell as if it has been matured in oak when it has never
touched oak. Its smell also recalls that of fountain pen ink
and quince. Tannat is a great blending wine as it darkens
and gives spine to other red varieties. I have tasted a lot
of fine Uruguay Tannat. Two Uruguayan producers, which show
contrasting styles of Tannat wine, are available in the
Massachusetts market. Carrau – available through wholesaler
Charles River Wine Company – makes Tannats that are very
soft in a modern, international style. Vinedo de los Vientos
– available through wholesaler Cafe Europa – makes them in a
more artisanal style that exposes the acidity and tannic
textures natural to the variety.

Uruguayan wine
consumers put Cabernet Sauvignon on a pedestal. According to
producers, great Cabernet Sauvignons can be made only in
those years in which the weather cooperates. Cabernet Franc
is usually harvested earlier, at the same time as Tannat,
which makes it less vulnerable to autumn rains. There is
very little Cabernet Franc planted in Uruguay. There is more
Merlot planted. It is harvested about a week before Tannat.
I tasted some great Merlot in Uruguay, particularly from
Bouza and from HN Stagnari. Fine Uruguayan Merlot reminds of
fine Pomerol. The cool, humid, rich stoneless soils are
ideal for this variety. Unfortunately, local consumers don’t
like the word, “Merlot”. Fine though it can be, as an export
wine, it would face much competition from better known wine
regions. I tasted some Syrah and Tempranillo that showed
modest potential. The Pinot Noirs I sampled showed the
spicy, volatile aromas that I associate with hot climate
versions.

Laura Casella,
the enologist of HN Stagnari, told me that the humid
temperate climate and the moist cool soils were better
suited for white wine production than for red. I agree with
her. The local market, however, is not interested in white
wine. Producers point to Sauvignon Blanc as their best
variety. I did not taste any that were close to matching
what is now being produced in Chile, France, the USA, South
Africa, or New Zealand. I also tasted Chardonnays. They also
did not seem to offer any characteristics that would make US
consumers “monte vide eu”. The family of Juan Francis Bouza,
owner of the new boutique winery, Bodega Bouza, hails from
Galicia in Spain. There Alvarino is the favored white grape
variety. The Alvarino variety is resistant to growing in
humid conditions. Moreover, it is very early to ripen. Bouza
has been able to make Alvarino wines with 14% alcohol with
this variety. The Bouza Alvarino also supports a limited
amount of new oak contact. Alvarino would seem a better bet
than Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for the export market.
Bouza makes a fine one. The only problem so far with the
variety is its tiny bunches which necessitate a lot of hand
work in the vineyard and during the harvest. Clonal
selection should solve this problem.

There are less
than 3OO wineries in Uruguay. Most producers are of Italian
descent. Also common are those of Spanish descent. Unlike
Chile and Argentina where the wine industry has made the
transition from being family-dominated to
corporation-dominated, the estates here all show a strong
family identity. Nearly all the producers come from families
that have been producing wine for several generations. Two
newcomers, Juanico and Bouza, stand apart from these
“traditional” producers in that they made sudden and large
investments using money made in other industries.
Traditional wineries are bound to existing facilities, and
to the image and ideology of previous generations. For
traditional wineries, change is difficult. The owner of
Juanico owns Uruguay’s largest bus company. Bouza owns a
large bakery which exports its bread overseas. Juanico is
one of the larger wineries in Uruguay and has ties to
Bernard Magrez, a wine entrepreneur who owns Chateau Pape
Clement in Bordeaux and has partnerships that allow him to
make garagiste wines around the world. In this case, Juanico
and he collaborate to make a Tannat called Gran Casa Magrez.
The influence is not lost on the family which also
independently produces a Tannat wine called “1er Cru
Garage”. Particularly striking is Bouza, which seems like a
California boutique winery lifted by helicopter, dragged by
air to Uruguay, and dropped from the sky. Bouza is tiny, a
jewel of a winery. 2OO3 was their first vintage.
International contacts via their bread business, persuasive
marketing and well-made wine have helped them export one
half of their small production culled out of 45 hectares of
vines. Both Juanico and Bouza also have modern and
attractive facilities for wine tourism. They cultivate
channels of distribution previously untapped, such as the
lucrative cruise liner trade that uses Montevideo as a
port-of-call. Both seem to sense that in order to be valued
at home, they first have to be valued abroad. Though not
considered traditional, family members play an important and
visible role both at Juanico and Bouza

Uruguay’s
domestic market is focused around Montevideo. Its greater
metropolitan area accounts for 1.8 million of the country’s
3.43 million inhabitants. Producers fight fiercely over the
local market which is driven by price. In a supermarket, you
can buy a good bottle of wine for $2.5O. Seventy percent of
Uruguayan wine is inexpensive table wine. And there is a lot
of excess production that needs venting somewhere else.
Recently Uruguayan wineries collaborated to sell off
overproduction to Russia for 25 cents per liter. Wine
producers would like to expand fine wine sales because the
margins for those wines are higher. Twenty wineries now
participate in a wine road. They understand that connecting
wine with a pleasant and wholesome lifestyle will enhance
the image of their wine.

Though per
capita consumption is high, the local wine industry has the
capacity to export wine abroad. They export only 5% of
production. This amounts to about 4.5 million liters per
year having a value of $3.5 million dollars. Four firms,
Juanico, Carrau, Pisano, and Castillo Viejo account for 95%
of exports. About twenty Uruguayan producers are large
enough to export. They are quite small according to
international standards and do not have the scale to compete
in the low cost international brand market. Among producers,
Pisano is the pacesetter, particularly because it exports
higher cost wines. The company began exporting in 1998. Now
it exports to 39 countries and in 2OO6 became the Uruguay’s
#1 exporter. Pisano has a high average ex-cellars price of
$5 per bottle.

The first export
market is Brazil. This is the natural market for Uruguay as
it is a neighboring country which consumes more wine than
its domestic industry can supply itself with. Uruguayans,
however, tell me that Brazil is a fickle market. Argentines
buy Argentine wine or wines from other continents. A trip
across the River Plate to dine at a high class restaurant
proved to me that Uruguay wines have no presence in
Argentina. Some export practices seem strange. Traversa
sells tetrapak to South Africa where merchants put it in
glass bottles and resell it to China and Russia. According
to Pablo Fallabrino of Vinedo de los Vientos, the goal for
Uruguay should be to export a half a million cases (4.5
million liters) that would cost ex-cellars about $36 per
case (or a total of $18 million dollars).

Though equipment
is expensive, Uruguayan producers are investing in modern
equipment, particularly equipment designed to produce high
quality wines. Traversa, which produces more wine than any
other company, recently invested 17O,OOO euro in a sorting
table, a crusher-destemmer, a bottling line, and other
equipment. A wave of technological influence came ashore in
the early 199Os when a delegation of producers from Madiran
visited Uruguay. Patrick Ducornau, the producer-researcher,
who pioneered the use of micro-oxygenation, has followed
several clients. International wine consultants Michel
Rolland, Patrick Vallet, Hans Vinding-Diers, Duncan
Killiner, and the Bright brothers have had stints at various
wineries. Pablo Fallabrino of Vinedo de los Vientos tells me
that they have helped Uruguayan producers understand how to
make wines that the global market wants. An avenue for
innovation and synergistic marketing opportunities is the
alliance with famous and powerful foreign wine producers.
Pisano has partnered with Boisset International to make a
Vina Progreso line of wines. Viticultores del Uruguay is a
joint venture between Freixenet SA of Spain and Bodegas
Carrau. Juanico has partnered with Magrez.

The consensus
among larger Uruguay producers is that they must export in
order to have a niche in the global wine market. The size of
the Uruguayan wine industry is approximately that of New
Zealand. New Zealand would be a good model to emulate. New
Zealand has gained international recognition for its
singular style of Sauvignon Blanc and is beginning to carve
out a niche for Pinot Noir. Uruguay could penetrate the
global market with Tannat. This effort could be greatly
assisted by more reports of the health benefits of Tannat
wine. Uruguay’s temperate, humid climate is even better
suited for white wine production. Bouza’s choice of Alvarino
would be a good one for Uruguay since there is virtually no
Alvarino produced in the New World. Clonal selection studies
could help refine Tannat wine texture and enlarge Alvarino’s
tiny bunches. Uruguay vineyards should also gradually be
relocated to areas better suited for quality wine
production, ones with fast draining soils of lower
fertility. Once Uruguay has identified itself to the market,
I hope that the fine quality of Uruguayan Merlot gets some
notice.

In 2OO5,
Uruguayan singer and musician, Jorge Drexler, won the first
Oscar for a Spanish language musical performance. At the
Oscar ceremony, the television producer did not permit him,
a nobody from a nowhere country, to sing the theme song to
his winning piece, “The Motorcycle Diaries”. Instead,
Antonio Banderas and Carlos Santana collaborated to perform
the piece. When Drexler came to the podium to accept his
Oscar, undaunted he sang out his song. The Uruguayan wine
industry should take their inspiration from Drexler. They
should fight to earn their niche in the global market, a
niche that should be carved out by the unique wines of their
unique country. Then the world will “monte vide
eu”.