Canelones

The heart of Uruguayan wine, a flat coastal department south of Montevideo where maritime influence from the Atlantic and Río de la Plata estuary moderates the subtropical climate. Canelones produces around 60% of Uruguay's wine from predominantly clay-limestone soils, and is home to the country's most celebrated estate, Bodega Garzon. Uruguay's signature grape Tannat — originally from southwest France — achieves a distinctive New World character here: fuller, rounder, and more accessible than its Madiran origins, while retaining the grape's characteristic tannic backbone and deep colour.