Geoffrey Dean on the many vinous jewels to be found in Uruguay
“We are the New Zealand of South America.” This is how Uruguay sees itself with a wide diurnal range allowing wines to have a good balance between acid, alcohol, tannin and fruit. Geoffrey Dean went there and singles out a variety of top wineries and wines, plus samples a variety of Tannat wines – from vines planted in 1870, to super premium and also carbonic macerated – through to Riesling, Albariño and Cabernet Franc.
26th July 2025 by Geoffrey Dean,
To the traditional duo of Argentina and Chile can be added a third South American country with all the ingredients for top-end wine tourism: Uruguay. Its compact size – around two-thirds of the surface area of the United Kingdom – make it easy to travel around; its wineries’ cellar doors are most welcoming, invariably with superb cuisine and often with attractive accommodation options; and the quality of the wines keeps getting better and better.
Moreover, Uruguay can lay claim to possessing the most stable economy in South America. Although its population is small (around 3.4 million), it has the highest GDP in the continent and the best classification in the Corruption Perception Index in Latin America. It is also number 1 in the Prosperity Index.
“We are the New Zealand of South America,” declares Daniel Pisano, co-owner of the celebrated Pisano winery just north of the capital, Montevideo, that was founded by his grandfather in 1924. “We have high natural acidity thanks to the wide diurnal range in Uruguay. Cool nights allow us to retain acidity, and there is a good balance between acid, alcohol, tannin and fruit.”
Just as New Zealand is something of a kid brother to Australia, so Uruguay has a similar relationship with Argentina. Many wealthy Argentines invest in Uruguay, notably in its wineries. Indeed, the oldest one in Uruguay which dates back to 1854, Cerros de San Juan, and perhaps the best-known one, Bodega Garzón, are Argentine-owned.
One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to arrive in Uruguay is the one-hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento on the Colonia Express service. From Colonia, whose historic quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a 35-km drive to Los Cerros de San Juan. The owners, who bought the winery in 2019, have invested heavily in its facilities, acquiring six 1800-litre clay amphorae and recruiting Michel Rolland as a consultant. A converted barn houses a handsome tasting-room and restaurant.
An hour’s drive west of Los Cerros de San Juan, just outside the town of Carmelo, is the Narbona Wine Lodge, home to both a first-rate winery and a delightful boutique hotel with seven large bedrooms that have nice vineyard views. Rolland also acted as a consultant here from 2011-14, helping winemaker Valeria Chiola to produce one of Uruguay’s best Tannats, Luz de Luna. Narbona’s first Tannat vines were planted in the 1870s.
Another winery with a very comfortable lodge that has four bedrooms opening onto the vines is Pizzorno, which is situated in the Canelones appellation north of Montevideo. Carlos Pizzorno is a third generation winemaker and a very innovative one, producing Uruguay’s only ice wine and a carbonic maceration Tannat. It is very much a family affair, with father Francisco still overseeing the estate and sister Maria-Clara chief financial officer. Just a few miles away is Pisano, where tasting is by appointment only.
A third winery with its own accommodation – a pair of delightful cabins in the middle of 11 hectares of vineyards – is Bracco Bosca in the Atlántida sub-appellation (named because of its proximity to the Atlantic). The owner-winemaker is the irrepressible Fabiana Bracco, an energetic ambassador for the Uruguayan wine industry as well as a famously hospitable host. Even if not staying there, the winery is a must-visit to taste a superb range that includes arguably the country’s finest Cabernet Franc.
There are too many outstanding Tannats in Uruguay to laud as the best, but one of the most revered is the Massimo Deicas label, made by Familia Deicas on their Juanicó estate. The cellar there, built in 1745 by the Jesuits, is well worth a visit as is their cellar door. Santiago Deicas makes the wines while sister Mercedes heads up the kitchen at their popular restaurant.
As far as fine lunchtime dining is concerned, nothing beats the cuisine at two of Uruguay’s top producers, Bodega Bouza and Bodega Garzón, who were founded as recently as 1999 and 2008 respectively. Bouza actually has two restaurants – at its Montevideo winery and also at its brand new Maldonado one, Las Espinas, on the Pan de Azúcar mountain. While the former also houses a remarkable collection of vintage cars, the latter must have the most spectacular 360-degree views in all of Uruguay. Bouza, the first winery to plant Albariño in Uruguay, also pioneered super-premium Tannat, and is making world-class Riesling.
Everything about Garzón is super-premium. Owned by Argentinian billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni, it is a memorable place to visit. The state-of-the-art winery was built by dint of remarkable engineering enterprise into a rock face, and thanks to its 250 hectares under vine (on decomposed granite and sand), is Uruguay’s biggest exporter of wines – to nearly 50 markets. With as many as 1200 different plots, none bigger than 0.8h, head winemaker Germán Bruzzone vinifies each separately to craft multiple outstanding labels, including the iconic Balasto Tannat. Interestingly, he uses no new oak at all for any of them.
The outstanding Garzón restaurant, which has spectacular views over the estate’s vineyards, was established with the help of celebrated chef Francis Mallmann. The Argentinian developed the open-flame cooking technique and devised a so-called market menu, where only the best, local products of the day or season are used. The beef, the quality of which is extremely high as Uruguayan cattle are grass-fed, is one of chef Nicolas Acosta’s specialities.
Finally, for the more adventurous wine tourists, as it is situated in the north of Uruguay on the border with Brazil, the winery of Cerro Chapeu is one that should not be missed. Situated near the town of Rivera, it is built into a hill for gravity-flow purposes. Co-owner and winemaker, Francisco Carrau produces one of Uruguay’s top Tannats, Batovi T1, benefiting from the fact the grape ripens earlier here. The tasting-room tower, which has stunning views, is actually just in Brazil, but accessed without ado as there are no border controls. An anomalous gem in a country with no shortage of vinous jewels.