The Winery Barras de Mahoma of San José

Discovering the wine region of San José

San Jose, in South-western Uruguay, is one of the country's 19 administrative departments. Located immediately west of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, it enjoys the climatic benefits of its position on the northern banks of the Rio de la Plata estuary. Seventy miles (113km) to the west, at the apex of the vast estuary, is the confluence of the Parana and Uruguay rivers, and just south of that is Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. San Jose vineyards produce white wines from a number of international wine Grape varieties including Pinot Blanc (although some authorities have suggested that these vines might in fact be Chenin Blanc), Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Unsurprisingly, given its ever-growing popularity in Uruguay, the local reds are based mostly on Tannat, either solo or blended with the likes of Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot. The terrain here is much the same as in the more developed (in vinicultural terms) Canelones, a low-lying landscape of gently rolling hills similar to that seen in the Bordeaux/entre-deux-mers">Entre-deux-Mers and Libournais districts of France's famous Bordeaux wine region. Interestingly, the Climate also bears significant similarities to that found around Bordeaux. A contributing factor to this is San Jose's proximity to the Rio de la Plata estuary, mirrored in Bordeaux by the (much smaller) Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean.

It is interesting that two wine regions can have such similar terroirs, despite one being a whole ten degrees of latitude and more than 1000 miles (1609km) closer to the equator. Although San Jose has yet to acquire a reputation for its wines, its better-known neighbor Canelones has set an impressive precedent for the region to follow.