Sustainable Uruguay

With a maritime climate much like that of Bordeaux, the grass is certainly greener in Uruguay than in the arid wine regions of nearby Argentina and Chile. But while the grass may be greener, managing that grass – between the vines at least – is certainly harder. Indeed Uruguay has the most labour-intensive climate of all South American wine regions.

‘Uruguay has a much more temperate climate, and high rainfall,’ explains flying winemaker Duncan Killiner, who has been making wine in South America for 25 years. ‘There’s much more disease pressure in Uruguay and, as a lot of the viticultural work has to be done by hand, the labour costs increase four-fold when compared to the rest of the New World. Hence the extra love in each bottle of Uruguayan wine costs a little more!’

The maritime climate is what makes Uruguay’s wines