The region, which began with a restaurant and a boutique hotel, grew until it added its first self-produced wine, an organic orchard, in parallel with the development of the Village neighborhood, to which was added the prompt commercialization of the second neighborhood, Fincas, of 9 hectares. .
How did a project as multifaceted as Comarca Las Liebres come about?
– It arises as the intention to generate a specific attraction with a quality differential and specific proposal for the inhabitants of the region, the guests, the tourist. It combines everything that makes life more beautiful, everything that makes the elemental nature of being and that we no longer find in the usual endeavors: work, contemplation, family, nature. Las Liebres emerges as a great longing.
For how much personal time did you develop this idea?
– The project began as a simple lot. The house where the restaurant and hotel are today was planned to be torn down and that entire area also converted into lots. But circumstances arose that made the business unviable due to a decline in the market. And that’s when the idea of making an impasse or doing something different arose. And doing something different was generating this. Generate an attraction, something with personality that could offer different things to the tourist, to the people who choose to live in that place.
Everything began to revolve around the reconstruction of the house as a small restaurant and, over time, along with that, the idea of the organic garden began. My son did the initial design of the garden. Today it has 4,000 m2, it is organic and it supplies the restaurant.
How important is it for you and for the projects you undertake to take sustainability factors into account?
– The issue of sustainability is a priority for us. The different business units support sustainability. Furthermore, they demand it as part of their essence. For example, we generate compost from restaurant waste that is used for our garden. We sort waste. The water we serve in the restaurant is from a system called natural water, which uses recycled packaging. It has a filtering system that fills the container immediately with natural or carbonated cold water, but it is purified with a reverse osmosis system and that makes it practically as rich as mineral water. In addition, the restaurant and the hotel have a solar water preheating system.
I understand that your house is sustainable too…
– My house is built from 100% lapacho wood and was based on my sustainability criteria.
What is the news of the neighborhood and the units for sale?
– We are marketing the lots and what we do is offer buyers projects and accompany them in the construction management. We prioritize transportable homes, like my house. It’s not like it was built in 48 hours. It took a construction period of approximately 7 months and was transported in 3 trucks. On the same day everything was implemented.
Throughout the neighborhood we have a characteristic and that is that each block has its own co-ownership regulations, it is a UPH system as if they were apartments in a building. And no one can build a house if we do not authorize the project to be presented to the Municipality, because what we intend is to protect the environment and protect the investment of each person who chose to live in Las Liebres. It is not a matter of value, but of design quality. In other words, it should not be a house that is only pretty, but one that remains in good condition over time.
And why carry out this project in Uruguay and not in Argentina?
– First of all, because I always had the vision that I would live here one day. And I have been linked to its people for many years. 14 years ago I decided to settle and today I am a Uruguayan citizen. And I was looking to build a business project that would also be the work of art of my life. Colonia del Sacramento is one of the great poles that Uruguay projects in the world and that is already a good starting point.
Las Liebres Colonia Region
I stop at what you say “let it be the great work of art of your life.” In addition to being a businessman, you are an artist. How much does your artistic creativity contribute when doing business?
– I would tell you that all my life, all the work I did, everything I learned, I did it with pleasure and passion. I started painting from a very young age, at 7 years old. At the age of 20 I left it to dedicate myself fully to work and studying, and at 58 I returned, when I was already living in Uruguay
I believe that training, regardless of one’s artistic level, allows for a combination of entrepreneurship and sensitivity to art. I think that combination is what allows me to do the things we are doing. That is to say that apart from being good and beautiful, when Las Liebres is discovered by whoever visits it, that person can say ‘there is something different here, there is a different energy, there is a particular aesthetic here’. And the good thing is that each of the things we are undertaking has the same language.
The foray into the universe of wines
Comarca Las Liebres begins 2024 with a no small challenge: its first harvest. Although it already had its own brand wine that is made in the winery La Primavera Estatenow added a second that is an exclusive blend and that is made together with the winery The legacyof Carmel. “We are going to have our first harvest of our own grapes and there we are going to have a wine that, we hope, will turn out delicious,” Melnitzky says enthusiastically.
It is a blend of Merlot and Gamaret made from the Las Liebres vineyard, which is intended for the production of wines where quality is prioritized over quantity. The bottles, around 1,300, will have the neighborhood owners and hotel guests as priority recipients.
“We want a wine that is not good, but very good, the best we can make. We’re going to see what comes out obviously, but we’re putting all our energy into making it that way. We are all hoping to uncork it,” says Melnitzky.
Regarding his debut accompanying the wine production process from the care of the vineyards, he reflects: “I never perceived it and to begin to live it, to begin to see how the plants evolve, and the fruits begin to grow and change color, It’s really moving. “It was a discovery.”
For the coming months, Comarca Las Liebres will already offer tastings in its own vineyard and in the restaurant at unusual hours for a winery, Melnitzky anticipated.
Source: Ambito
