Uruguay Flashcards
South America’s 4th largest producer
Uruguay
- Exports over half of its production to Brazil
Urugay
Main red varietal for quality wines
Tannat
- Rechristened Harriague, after Don Pascual Harriague, the Frenchman who introduced the grape to Uruguay
Tannat a.k.a. in Urugay
Harriague
- After Don Pascual Harriague, the Frenchman who introduced the grape to Uruguay
- The dominant red varietal for quality wines.
What is the breakdown of wine production in Uruguay?
Heavily weighted towards labrusca and hybrids.
60% of wineries make exclusively “commún” (common) wines, bottled in demi-johns, from these varieties. Of the wineries that produce quality wine as well, the typical split is 80% commún, 20% quality.
Name three wineries in Uruguay
Juanicó (largest producer of fine wine, producing the Don Pascual brand)
Bodegas Carrau
Bracco Bosca
Pisano
What are the four northern winegrowing departments of Uruguay?
Artiga
Salto
Rivera
Paysandu
What are the southern winegrowing departments of Uruguay? What bodies of water do they border? Which is the most important?
Colonia, San Jose, Canelones, Maldonado
Rio de la Plata, South Atlantic Ocean
Canelones, with 60% of production
What is Uruguay’s climate?
Mild Maritime influenced by the Atlantic
Terrain of Uruguay?
Relatively flat compared to other major SA wine regions, highest hill is Cerro Catedral at 500 MASL
What are “pampas”?
Flat, grassy, lowlands
Uruguay’s climate could best be compared to what famous European wine regions?
Galicia or Bordeaux
Does Uruguay require irrigation?
The opposite, it has an abundance of water making it one of the world’s most important freshwater reserves. Home to the Guarani aquifier.
Uruguay’s oldest commercial winery?
Los Cerros de San Juan in Colonia
Founded in 1855
What is the American Isabella grape known as in Uruguay?
Locally known as Frutilla
Formerly Uruguay’s most planted grape variety and dominated cheap table wine production
What is Uruguay’s quality wine category called? When was it established?
Vinos de Calidad Preferente (VCP)
1970’s
The Environmental Sustainability Index ranks Uruguay ______
Third
After Finland and Norway
What is Uruguay’s greatest challenge to viticulture?
It’s humidity which increases disease pressure and holds Uruguay’s organic viticulture back. They developed their own sustainability code using integrated farming techniques.
What’s Uruguay’s average rainfall?
Canelones receives 1,100mm of rain per year and can have as much as 75% relative humidity.
Rivera, inland, sees 1,500mm.
(For comparison, Mendoza receives 200mm of rainfall per year)
How does Uruguay’s production compare to other SA countries?
It’s artisanal as opposed to commercial
Entire country’s production is less than Concha y Toro’s production in Chile
When did Pascual Harriague plant Tannat in Salto?
1871
When did phylloxera arrive in Uruguay?
1893
Uruguay: Top-planted grape varieties:
Tannat (1610 ha)
Moscatel de Hamburgo (1107 ha)
Merlot (651 ha)
Ugni Blanc (629 ha)
Modern producers of Tannat:
Pizzorno
Antigua Bodega Uruguay
Vina Eden
Brisas del Este
Traditional producers of Tannat:
Bouza
Cerro Chapeu
Marichal
Familia Deicas
Why does Tannat do so well in Uruguay?
Thick skins, originates in the south of France, performs well in humidity
What physiological component makes the Tannat grape so tannic?
Tannat has 5 pips/seeds in leu of the standard 2/3 like most other varietals
What are the differences in style between Modern and Traditional Tannat?
Modern - less extraction, more youthful style with lighter tannins and juicier, brighter fruit expression. Micro-oxygenation is utilized. Often released a year or two after aging with little to no oak influence.
Traditional - heavy extraction and maceration, followed by long periods of barrel aging. Very robust, deeply-colored, require several years before ready to drink.
In what regions do we see the greatest examples of Tannat?
Canelones
Maldonado
Colonia
Sierra de Mahoma
River, Salto, Durazno
What is Uruguay’s second most-planted grape varietal? What wine does it make?
Moscatel de Hamburgo
Almost 1/5 of vineyard area
Cheap rose wines, slightly sweetened, or table wines
Most of Uruguay’s wine regions are situated along ______
The Rio de la Plata (River Plate)
What are the sub-regions of Canelones:
Atlántida
Canelón Chico
El Colorado (Las Piedras)
Juanicó
Las Brujas
La Paz
Las Piedras
Las Violets (most well-known)
Progreso
Santa Lucia
What Canelones sub-region is considered the traditional center of Uruguayan wine production?
Las Piedras
Uruguay’s National Viticultural Institute (INAVI) is situated here too
Which Canelones sub-region is reknowned for it’s higher and breezier hills with more volcanic and limestone-rich soils?
Las Violetas
What is “medio y medio” in relation to Uruguay drinking?
a local wine spritzer
Colonia is a short distance across the river from _____
Buenos Aires
What is Uruguay’s fastest growing wine region?
Maldonado (The New Frontier of Uruguayan Wine)
All about big, new investments, and shiniest most modern wineries
Rocha and Lavalleja which border Maldonado have seen similar conditions
Biggest wine investment in Uruguay?
Bodega Garzon - 86 million
240 ha of vines
Who makes Balasto, and what is the predominant grape variety:
Bodegas Garzon, Tannat
Garzon is a subzone of which region:
Maldonado
T/F - Tannat is typically medium acid and medium tannin
False - High acid, high tannin
- What is the height in meters of the tallest point in Uruguay?
a. 500
b. 1000
c. 1500
d. 2000
e. 2500
a. 500 $U
b. 1000
c. 1500
d. 2000
e. 2500
What term is used in both Bolivia and Uruguay for ten liter glass bottles?
damajuana
Is there any geographic connection between Salto Uruguay and Salta Argentina?
No, they are a little over 840 miles apart if you take the shortest route
Which coast of Uruguay is home to greatest percentage of vineyards?
a. North
b. East
c. South $U
d. West
Put these countries in order in terms of production volume most (1) to least (5)
Uruguay 4
Brazil 3
Peru 5
Chile 2
Argentina 1
Bolivia
Yea, Tannat, yea Harrigue, well what is the 2nd most planted grape in Uruguay smarty-pants?
Moscatel de Hamburgo - and by quite a long way aka Black Muscat. Accounts for 20% of Uruguay’s vineyards. Some for table grapes to eat, majority go towards cheap rosé in 1.5L to 10L! Don’t tell Trader Joe’s.
What is the name of the river that borders the southern coast of Uruguay and empties into the Atlantic?
Río de La Plata
Arrange these regions in Uruguay from east (1) to west (4)
Canelones (3)
San Jose (2)
Maldonado (4)
Colonia (1)
Canelones (3)
San Jose (2)
Maldonado (4)
Colonia (1)
What type of vine training method is used in Uruguay, cite a specific example?
VSP most common for air-flow, reduce humidity; 25% use of Lyre.
Santa Lucia, Las Brujas, Las Piedras, Progresso, and El Colorado are subregions of what Uruguay winegrowing region?
Canelones
The two subregions of Montevideo are?
Melilla and La Paz
What is Uruguay’s climate?
Maritime, with plenty of humidity representing one of its biggest vineyard challenge
What is patero?
patero [adj] BO AR. made from pressed grapes.
It is a young wine characterized by its sweet and intense flavor, as well as its high alcohol content. It is made from late harvests of ripe grapes and is a young varietal that is not usually aged in barrels.
What size is required for Uruguayan VCP bottles?
VCP wines are made from vitis vinifera grapes, fermented to 8.6% to 15% ABV. VCP wines must be sold in glass wine bottles in the quantity 750ml or smaller.
What Uruguayan winery boasts Paul Hobbs as consultant?
Familia Deicas
What is the most significant URU wine region by planted acreage?
Canelones (~60% of total national planted acreage)
Name a producer from Maldonado?
Altos de la Ballena, Bouza, Garzon, Deicas, Vi˜ã Eden, Bodega Brisas
What are the top three most planted grapes in Uruguay?
TNT / MLT / CS
What organization administers URU’s wine production?
INAVI
