Wines from Uruguay

Uruguay is the home of Tannat, The Graf Spee (wreck of) and a fairly good football team. Uruguay is South America's 4th largest wine producer, with much of the vineyards centered around the cooling influence of the mighty River Plate, west of the capital Montevideo (where cruisers Exeter and Ajax fought the German surface raider Graf Spee in December 1939 and where its wreck lies just below the rivers surface).

New regions such as the warm Caxias do Sol neighbouring Brazil are also making good wine, from predominantly European varieties. Tannat, however, is king in Uruguay, in a similar way to Malbec in Argentina. Tannat exudes a deep colour, rich sturdy character and always with a rasping freshness.