Only 18 kilometres away from the Uruguayan Atlantic coast (as the crow flies) and 160 metres above sea level, is the Maldonado wine region, which is home to Bodega Garzón – the first sustainable, LEED-certified winery outside of North America. With over 253 hectares of biodiverse vineyards and 16 grape varietals grown, Bodega Garzón is making some of the best wines in the world.
The Winery
Along twisting roads, the one-and-a-half-hour drive from the beach town of Costa del Este to the Bodega Garzón winery is dotted with rolling plains, sparse greenery and the occasional cow. Passing through towering steel gates, you’ll continue along a dirt road that opens up to the first sight of the impressive multi-level site. To enter the building, you must walk across a bridge over an ersatz moat. The entire back of the structure is glass, and beyond is a terrace that juts out over tiered gardens, while the terrace offers a panoramic view of a patchwork of vineyards (there are over 1,000 plots) planted into undulating hills as far as the eye can see.
Top Uruguayan Wines
Winemaker Alberto Antonini works with oenologist Germán Bruzzone to create world-class wines. The wine emblematic of Bodega Garzón is Balasto, an elegant red blend of 42% Tannat, 39% Cabernet Franc and 19% Petit Verdot that displays notes of black and red berries and reflects the granite (ballast) terroir of the Maldonado region. Tannat is a grape indigenous to the Southeast of France, and it’s now become the varietal Uruguay is known for worldwide.
Don’t overlook the Petit Clos Tannat, a refined, well-structured wine that has intense aromas of cherries, tobacco and cocoa with an oak background or, for the sparkling-wine enthusiast, Garzón Extra-Brut, a Chardonnay-Pinot Noir (80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir) blend that is fresh in the mouth with good minerality. This delicate sparkling wine benefits from the winery’s unique terroir that includes the moderating effect of steady breezes from the Atlantic Ocean.
Bodega Garzón’s Harvest Party
During harvest, grapes are hand-picked at their ultimate ripeness. To celebrate the annual event, Bodega Garzón invites 400 people to the winery to sample wines and try their hand at picking grapes — no surprise, wine sampling is the more popular activity. The ticketed event is legendary and reflects the innovation and creativity of the Bodega Garzón team, including founder Alejandro P. Bulgheroni, who celebrates alongside the guests.
After visiting the winery, guests make their way to Pueblo Garzón, the eponymous village 30 minutes away. In the town square, long tables are set with enough place settings for everyone, and there is a fountain that has been filled with crushed ice and bottles of Bodega Garzón wines, including delicious Sauvignon Blancs, Alberiños, sparkling wines and more.
But it is the wood smoke that spills into the town square that foreshadows what’s to come – beyond the main part of the square, multiple wood fires burn in an outdoor kitchen, grilling all the ingredients for lunch.
Celebrity Chef Francis Mallmann
What makes the event even more impressive is the world-famous chef that helms the outdoor open-fire kitchen – Argentine chef Francis Mallmann. Mallmann has nine restaurants around the world, but it’s his tiny restaurant in the village, El Garzón, that shines over the Harvest Party.
Mallmann – who is also the ambassador and culinary director of Bodega Garzón, overseeing the winery’s 120-seat restaurant – puts his open-flame technique on full display, cooking everything from lamb to cabbages to pineapples, all hanging from sculptural metal rod frames. Meanwhile sweet potatoes and other vegetables have been slow-cooked overnight in trenches dug at the side of the dirt road.
The relationship between the winery and the chef is synergistic – the wines are unique and benefit from the Uruguayan terroir, just like Mallmann’s Patagonia-inspired cuisine.
Back at the harvest festival, the exceptional grilled food cooked over open flame or red-hot coal beds – a combination of salads, salt-baked fish, empanadas and more – has been eaten and given rave reviews. The leisurely lunch is now over, the kitchen fires are dying down, the music begins and the guests start dancing.
Hours later, the final magnum of Bodega Garzón Balasto is finished, the fountain is empty and guests begin to drift away. The village square is left in immaculate condition – almost as if the party never happened. Until harvest-time next year, that is.
