Sierras del Uruguay covers wine areas across Maldonado and Rocha in southeastern Uruguay. Atlantic breezes cool the vineyards, and both altitude and soils vary considerably. Near Laguna Garzón, some soils come from crystalline rock formed 2.5 billion years ago. Maldonado also has quartz-bearing rock, river deposits and gravel valleys. Its locally named balasto is soft, permeable ground that drains well. Tannat, originally from Southwest France, is an important red grape. Its wines are deeply coloured and often have ripe dark-fruit flavours and noticeable tannins, the compounds that give a drying grip. Producers make reds without oak as well as firmer wines intended for ageing. Tannat also appears in rosé and sparkling wines, including pét-nat, which finishes its fermentation in the bottle.
1 named area
Inside the region
Explore the wine-growing areas of Sierras del Uruguay.
Producer profiles
Producer profiles
Every producer profiled in Sierras del Uruguay so far.
- Bodega BrisasBodega Brisas in Maldonado makes a red blend and a white wine from Albariño under Atlantic sea breezes.
- Bodega GarzónOrganic Tannat and Albariño from 2.5-billion-year-old granite in the hills of southern Uruguay.