Some weeks ago, I wrote about the Wine
of Uruguay Tannat tasting event in San Francisco, at which I met Leslie
Fellows, a California resident who owns the Artesana
Winery on the outskirts of Montevideo.
After the event, and finding some of Artesana’s
wines at my favorite supermarket, I approached her about an email
interview, in which she graciously provided some insights on Uruguayan wine and
her own project there. The answers follow.
WB: What is your
background in wine? Did you grow up in California?
LF: I grew up in
California and after working in the arts for many years, finally decided to
follow my true passion, wine. I took two years of courses at Cabrillo and UC
Davis and became a Certified Specialist of Wine and Sommelier Level 1. As a
winery owner and member of the Wines
of Uruguay Association, I advocate for and promote Uruguayan wines. I
currently live in Santa Cruz, California and spend about two months a year in Uruguay.
WB: How did you
end up in Uruguay? How do you compare it with Argentina and Chile, which have a
much higher profile?
LF: My uncle
started traveling in Uruguay
for business in 2003 and fell in love with the country. He bought a home in the
countryside with the idea of having a small vineyard to support the property. At
that time the US dollar was strong so it was a good time to invest. The
vineyard started as a few acres in the backyard and became a larger project
after meeting two local winemakers who introduced him to Tannat and the distinctive terroir of Uruguay. In 2006, in
collaboration with these winemakers, Analia Lazaneo and
Valentina Gatti, we began developing Artesana, the first American-owned winery
in Uruguay.
Uruguay is an extraordinary country, known for its economic
stability and democratic, socially liberal policies, gorgeous countryside and beaches,
and now recognized for its many outstanding and diverse wines. Differing from Argentina and Chile, Uruguay is a country of
small-scale, family-owned wineries with a European winemaking tradition dating
back to the 18th century when the Spanish brought vines to the region. There
are 270 wineries in Uruguay producing approximately 10 million cases from
22,000 acres of vines. As a comparison, Chile’s Concha y Toro winery produces more wine than
all of Uruguay. Uruguay does not have the production capacity to compete
on price point with Argentina and Chile, so we have to do it by focusing on
quality. Small producers will become more recognized as bigger producers with
international wine consultants like Michel Rolland, Alberto Antonini and Paul Hobbs
help put Uruguay on the map.
Additionally, Uruguay
has the cleanest water on the continent and one of the purest environments in
the world, ranking third after Norway and Finland in the Environmental
Sustainability Index (ESI) in 2005.
WB: Tannat is
Uruguay’s signature wine, but you have cultivated Zinfandel, which I have never
seen in South America. Were there any special challenges in a climate and terroir
that’s so different from California? What other varietals do you produce?
LF: Tannat is indeed
the signature varietal of Uruguay, originating from the Madiran region of southwestern France.
Tannat is a well-structured grape with an exotic spicy character. Named for
high tannin content, Tannat [photograph courtesy of Leslie Fellows] has been found to be the healthiest of red wines in
several studies due to its high antioxidant and resveratrol levels. My
colleague, Dr. Francisco
Carrau of Bodegas Carrau,
recently sequenced the Tannat genome (only the second grape after Pinot Noir to
be sequenced), once again proving this.
Our winery, Artesana, is located 30 miles north of
Uruguay’s seaside capital Montevideo, in the acclaimed Canelones
region, which is home to the majority of the country’s vineyards. The coastal
Atlantic climate produces growing conditions similar to France’s Bordeaux
region. Twenty acres of our 80-acre estate are planted to Tannat, Merlot and
Zinfandel, the only Zin to be planted and produced in Uruguay. As Californians,
we wanted to bring Tannat to California, and Zinfandel to Uruguay. Tannat grows
beautifully in Uruguay, but the humidity is difficult on the Zin, so each
vintage is unique. In great years like 2011 we made 60 cases of a Zinfandel
Reserve (18 months in French oak), that’s received excellent reviews. It has a classic
Zin profile, yet is much more earth-driven than most California Zinfandels. In
2012, a more difficult vintage, we made an unoaked Zin that is an easy-drinking
fresh and fruity style. Because we produce so little Zinfandel, we sell it only
in the domestic market.
WB: Do you plan to
add any other varietals, specifically whites? Will you acquire any more
acreage?
LF: We
specialize in terroir-driven, single vineyard Tannat and Tannat blends. This
year we are grafting one 2.5-acre parcel of Merlot to Cabernet Franc,
which will give us more blending options. We are focused exclusively on reds, however
there are some excellent white wines produced in Uruguay including Sauvignon
Blanc, Albariño, Viognier and Petit Manseng.
WB: What size is
the operation? Its very name suggests a modest size, but what acreage do you
have in Uruguay? Are those vineyards dispersed, or concentrated? Do you depend
on your own vineyards exclusively, or do you purchase grapes as well?
LF: We
are a small, ultra-premium estate winery, meaning we only use fruit from our
20-acre vineyard for our wines and everything is done is small lots with
minimal intervention using only the very best equipment and barrels. The vineyard
is entirely hand-farmed to produced low yield highly concentrated fruit. We
practice sustainable, IPM (Integrated
Pest Management), low-input, dry farming to maintain the long-term health
of the land. Lots from the thirteen various Tannat, Merlot and
Zinfandel blocks are fermented separately using gentle handling
techniques in small stainless steel temperature-controlled tanks, allowing the
character of the fruit to be expressed. Twenty-day cool maceration regimes
provide excellent aroma and favor extraction. Barrel aging is done in French
and American oak for 12 to 24 months to carefully accentuate the flavors of the
wines, which are then custom blended and bottled without fining or filtration.
WB: What is your
annual production? What percentage of that production is exported? How easy are
Artesana wines to find in California and elsewhere in the US?
LF: We have a
future capacity of 4,000 cases and are currently producing about 2,000 cases,
so we are halfway there. About 30 percent is exported to the US, but we hope to
increase this percentage in the next few years. Our Tannat wines are sold in
shops and restaurants throughout California by our importer/distributor Epic
Wines. The wines can also be found in stores throughout Pennsylvania and we are
starting to sell in Washington and Oregon. We hope to have our wines available
in small quantity throughout the US and Canada in the future. Please inquire
with your local wine merchant about bringing the wine in for you.
WB: In Chile’s
Colchagua valley, eight French women have opened Viña Las Niñas in the
Apalta district, and I notice your winemakers are women. Is this a feminist
project?
LF: The name of
the winery, Artesana, inspired by our female winemakers, is a
feminized derivation of the Spanish word for artisan or handcrafted, synonymous
with fine wine. The two winemakers and I run the company and we are proud to be
all women. We work very hard and are passionate about the wines we are producing.
WB: Is Artesana
open for tours and tasting? If so, what do they include? How easy is access
from Montevideo?
LF: Artesana is
open to the public and is a member of Los
Caminos del Vino, a wine trail of 15 member wineries. We
offer guided tours with our winemakers, tastings and catered lunches. We are 30
minutes’ drive from Montevideo in the beautiful Las Brujas area of Canelones
and easily accessible.
WB: Is there anything
else that I’ve overlooked that deserves mention?
LF: Try a Tannat or
any wine from Uruguay if you see one. These wines are getting on the radar in
the US and beyond, and deservedly so. Tannat wines can be big and bold, yet
elegant and complex and pair beautifully with strong cheeses,
charcuterie, pasta dishes, and roasted and grilled meats including sausage,
beef and lamb.
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