international magazine National Geographic highlighted to Uruguay for its growth in wine tourism by the hand of the tannat grapeand maintained that the country “is causing a sensation” to the point of being able to become “something big in the oenophile world.”
Yes ok Argentina and Chili They have always been the countries that “dominated the South American wine scene”, contextualized the prestigious magazine before pointing out that, now, “a flashy grape called Tannat is helping little Uruguay to become” a phenomenon of important dimensions among those who love good wine.
In the note, entitled “Wine tourism is causing a sensation in Uruguay”, the history and origins of Tannat wine are reviewed, explaining why it became the country’s national grape.
“Now, Tannat is winning international awards, Uruguayan winemakers are landing on best-in-class lists, and there are a new tourist route, the Wine Map, which traces 95% of Uruguay’s boutique wineries. Since the country is small, you can use it to design a road trip of a week full of history, landscapes and, of course, wine”, pointed out the article, realizing the importance and growth that wine tourism is having in the country.
Consulted in the framework of the magazine note, Soledad Bassini, co-creator of the Wine Map, indicated that Uruguay is not only new to the world of wine, but it is also a small country. “We cannot produce large quantities of wine and we cannot compete on price with Argentina or Chile. But the Tannat is our front door, it is unusual, but full of personalityBassini said. “Something like Uruguay itself,” the magazine concluded.
Uruguay, one of the main producers of Tannat
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. Moisture, noted 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.
Source: Ambito
