Almost a third of the wine Tannat of the world is produced in Uruguaya red grape with a reputation for harsh and “difficult” that became a hit that put the country on the world wine map.
This places it second “only behind France“, which produces 45%, said Kym Anderson of the University of Adelaide’s Wine Economics Research Centre. It is followed by Argentina with 15% and USA with 4%.
Uruguay’s more than 1,200 vineyards, mostly small and family-owned, are located between the 30th and 35th parallels South, as are the main producers in Chile, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
A few kilometers from the Río de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean, the sea breeze refreshes them all year round. Humidity, noted the winemaker Eduardo Boidoof the bouza wineryin Montevideomakes the tannins of the Uruguayan Tannat “much more delicate”.
Uruguay’s wine exports are dwarfed by those of beef, milk and soybeans, but are still a significant number: 4.8 million bottles of wine, mainly red, worth $18.5 million in 2022according to data from National Institute of Viticulture (INAVI). The Tannat, explained to the AFP agency the spokesperson Karina Spremolla, was the “most exported variety”.
The country had 1,575 hectares of Tannat vineyards in 2022, compared to 2,733 in France in 2019, according to the South West Vineyards website. But while in France tannat represents less than 1% of the total plantation, in Uruguay it is the main one, with 27%.
“In Uruguay the Tannat grape is used mainly for the elaboration of monovarietal wines“said Eduardo Félix, INAVI’s technical adviser.
The history of the tannat grape in Uruguay
Although it is now the national grape, tannat is native to the southwest of France. It was brought in the 1870s, when it was a relatively new wine-growing country, by the Basque-French Pascual Harriague. In the 1980s the focus shifted to a fine wine.
Today the country produces a wide variety of styles, with different prices, and its Tannat wines are among the best.
“Throughout 150 years of making Tannat, Uruguayan producers have learned to manage the grape’s naturally high level of tannins,” states the Uruguay Wine website.
Taste aside, a 2006 study published in the journal Nature noted that traditionally made Tannat is the “healthiest” wine for its high levels of polyphenols, an antioxidant compound believed to improve brain health and protect against heart disease. .
Source: Ambito
