Bodega Bouza
“Maximum attention to the grapes… minimum intervention in the winery… wines with great personality…”
W ith origins in the food industry, the Bouza family turned to wine production in the late 1990s because of their love of the land and its products. Juan and Elisa Bouza joined forces with Uruguayan winemaker Eduardo Boido to plan this project and concentrate on making high-end wines. To achieve this objective, they have kept a small scale of production, which allows them to pay maximum attention to the grapes in each of their vineyards. And with minimum intervention in the winery, they get individual and complex wines that reflect the characteristics of each vintage and terroir.
The seasons of the year are well defined in Uruguay and the vineyards are influenced by their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. But climate is hard to predict and abrupt changes in the weather mean that the team in charge of the Bouza vineyards have to pay close attention to the vines, looking after them with love, dedication and intelligence. It’s hard work, but the rewards are immense since the result is wines with great personality, surprising in their quality, year after year.
The Bouza project began with vineyards in the south of Uruguay, a very traditional vine growing region, and more recently, vineyards have also been planted in the east, a new emerging area for grape production.
In the south, Bouza grow Albariño, Chardonnay, Merlot, Tempranillo and of course Tannat, the main grape in Uruguay. Albariño and Tempranillo were chosen because of the Spanish roots of the family. In fact, Bouza are pioneers in planting Albariño in Uruguay, getting great results which have encouraged other producers to follow on with this Spanish grape.
In the east, where the vineyards benefit even more from the maritime influence of the near-by Atlantic Ocean, Bouza have selected Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Tannat. Perhaps their success with Riesling will encourage other producers to follow suit too?