Bodega Jose Ignacio
LOCATION
40km from Punta del Este
FOUNDED
2012
ARCHITECT
Marcelo Daglio
Where ART MEETS NATURE
The Maldonado department, sitting 40 kilometers away from Punta del Este, is home for one of Uruguay's most exclusive wineries. Bodega Oceanica Jose Ignacio merges winemaking with art and nature in ways you haven't seen before. This small-scale boutique winery offers 6 different varieties of wine and in each glass, you will taste the soul of this rich land.
In 2012, Marcelo Conserva and Natalia Welker decided to grow olive groves and a 7-acre vineyard in the land that is now known as Bodega Oceanica Jose Ignacio. This started as a passion project, with just three varieties of grapes being cultivated (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot). To help with this project, they enlisted Hans Vinding Diers, a South African winemaker who has worked in wineries on four continents and has been responsible for over 50 harvests.
With his guidance, they built a wine cellar worthy of a spread in an architectural magazine and started to produce extraordinary wines at a small scale to maintain their quality. By 2015, other varieties of grape had been planted. These included Merlot, Tannat, and Albariño.
The location of Bodega Oceanica Jose Ignacio is ideal for winemaking. First of all, the soil is rich in sand, clay, and silt, which confer a unique acidity to the grapes. Also, since this winery sits in Uruguay's Atlantic Coast, the constant oceanic breeze brings vitality to the vines. The Albariño grapes are the most benefited from this breeze since they sit at the highest part of the field. Finally, the weather in Jose Ignacio is perfect for the cultivation of grapes, with an average temperature of 16.5oC.
This winery prides itself on being thankful for the gifts of nature, and this is reflected in their winemaking process. This means that they do everything they can to maintain the taste of the grapes which nature has provided. Their entire harvests are guided by the moon phases, and these determine when is the best time to extract the grapes. This is done by hand, in optimum conditions to preserve the taste of the grapes. Also, the grapes are destemmed within the hour of being extracted, to maintain their intense aroma. All these steps ensure the quality of their wines.
Aside from its love for nature, Bodega Oceanica Jose Ignacio is known for its art, starting with its infrastructure. Everything was built for a reason. The cellar walls, designed by architect Marcelo Daglio, resemble fish fins to reference the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Also, all over the winery and vineyard, you will find sculptures from national artists like Giorgio Carlevaro, Enrique Broglia, and Octavio Podesta, amongst others. You will find yourself in a gallery inside a winery.
Visiting Bodega Oceanica Jose Ignacio is a must for those traveling through the Maldonado region.
