Uruguay is the second-smallest country in mainland South America (only Suriname is smaller than Uruguay). It also has the highest level of education in South America, and the highest level of beef consumption in the entire world – and cows outnumber people in Uruguay 4 to 1.
Uruguay also makes world-class wines.
There are 14, 804 acres of vineyards in Uruguay, occupying an area a little bit bigger than Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux and a little bit smaller than Alexander Valley in California. Uruguay is the only South American winemaking country whose terroir is affected by the Atlantic Ocean. It is also interesting to note that the vineyards of Maldonado, the largest winemaking region in Uruguay, are planted above some of the oldest rocks on earth, the Río de La Plata craton, which is 2.5 billion years old. Currently, there are 168 wineries in Uruguay, producing 70 million bottles annually.
Bodega Garzón. Source: Uruguay Wine
Uruguay is best known for its Tannat wines, and Tannat occupies about 27% of all the area under vine in Uruguay. Actually, Merlot is the second most planted variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Marselan, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Albariño, and others. There are also six main winemaking regions in Uruguay – Northern Shore, Southern Shore, Metropolitan, Oceanic, Center, and North, each divided into subregions. There are also five distinctive terroirs across these six winemaking regions, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, rivers, amounts of rain (these can differentiate widely), and
This Article was originally published on Talk-a-Vino
