Artesana
The Uruguay vineyard for foodiesCanelones
Besides great wine, in our experience, this award-winning women-run winery 45 minutes from Montevideo, has the BEST lunch of Uruguay vineyards
Artesana is a young boutique winery run by two women wine-makers. The twenty-hectare vineyard is delightful, set on a slope close to the Santa Lucia river and a protected wetlands reserve. The drive from Montevideo is easy. First on the highway and then through countryside lined with pampas grasses and the occasional roadside shrine. The nearest village is enigmatically called Las Brujas, The Witches.
Artesana is the Spanish word for craftswoman and the winery is leading the vanguard of a new generation of winemakers in Uruguay, of which a majority are women. The vineyard produces just 50,000 bottles per year including Tannat, Uruguay’s signature red, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Definitely check out the Zinfandel, a red mainly produced in California. Artesana are currently the only growers of Zinfandel in the country, and wine-makers, Analia and Magdalena say Uruguayan Zin is more elegant and fresh than the Californian, due to Uruguay’s more temperate climate.
FAQs
FAQ: Why choose Artesana instead of another Uruguay vineyard?
What is most outstanding compared to other vineyards is the food. The chef worked previously at Uruguay’s most famous casino hotel in Punta del Este and it shows. The cuisine is adventurous (especially for Uruguay) specialising in the freshest local ingredients and a creative use of wine byproducts. Unlike other wineries with a restaurant around Montevideo, Artesana never takes large group bookings. They limit guests to a maximum of ten diners so you can guarantee you will be lunching in perfect serenity.
Guru Tip If you want to be the only visitors in the entire winery, book to visit mid-week.
FAQ: How long should I plan to stay?
Between the tasting, the tour of the vineyard and a leisurely lunch that you will want to linger over, plan to spend half a day at the winery. This type of experience would be a VIP visit (and charged accordingly!) if it were offered in the US.
FAQ: What if I have dietary restrictions?
Please mention this at the time of booking for delicious vegetarian options.
What’s included
The wine-tasting only option includes:
- a tour of the vineyard
- generous pours of Tannat, Zinfandel and Tannat Rosado plus two reserve wines
- gourmet appetizers (“
picada ”)
The Artesana lunch option includes:
- the wine-tasting plus
- a six-course tasting menu
- more wine!
Avoiding those cruise ship crowds and buying Artesana wines abroad
Artesana only receives individual visitors and small groups. They have a deliberate policy of not receiving large groups, so you can be sure your visit will be very personal.
Artesana wines are sold at the winery and in select shops and restaurants in the USA (California, Arizona, Louisiana, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts), Uruguay, Brazil, Canada and the UK.
The winery shop has advantageous prices. Prices below in pesos ($), not dollars!
Available days
Tuesday to Saturday 12.30 till
Booking your visit to Artesana
Send an email to Artesana turismo@artesanawinery.com
How to get to Artesana
Artesana is a 40 minute drive from downtown Montevideo. Ignore the GPS and do not drive through the city. Instead get to the rambla as quickly as possible and then follow it west until you hit the Ruta 5 highway.
Photos: Indrasish Banerjee for Guru’Guay
Artesana – a bewitching winery experience
The drive is easy, mainly on the highway and then through the countryside lined with pampas grasses and the occasional roadside shrine. The nearest village is enigmatically called Las Brujas, The Witches.
We arrived for an early morning visit for a tasting (for mum, I was the designated driver as Uruguay has zero alcohol tolerance for drivers. Booooo.) followed by lunch.
Our English-speaking guide was a trainee wine-maker herself. We started in the vineyard.
Harvest is from the end of February into March, and the grapes hung heavy and purple. The bunches had been carefully pruned and confined to the lower part of the vine. Each vine is limited to not more than six pounds of fruit, to concentrate their quality.
The vines are planted and the leaves pruned back so that the grapes receive full on morning sun and are more sheltered by the vine leaves in the afternoon.
Boutique wine production with a unique varietal
After she showed us around the winery complex. It’s really very small and definitely artisanal, as their name suggests.
Artesana produces Tannat, Uruguay’s signature red, Merlot and Zinfandel.
They are currently Uruguay’s only producer of Zinfandel, a red mainly produced in California. According to Artesana, the Zinfandel produced in Uruguay is more elegant and fresh than the Californian, due to Uruguay’s more temperate climate.
The wine tasting included three generous pours of Tannat, Zinfandel and Tannat Rosado and two reserves. The guys at the Montevideo Wine Experience had already told us to look out for the Tannat Rosado, a gorgeous fuchsia shaded rosé. It was exceptionally refreshing, ideal as an apertif.
Adventurous cuisine
Most Uruguayan vineyard wine-tastings are accompanied by a “picada” of ham, cheese and bread.
The picada at Artesana was much more adventurous.
It included huesito caracú – grilled bone marrow (pictured far right). Just like Marmite (for you British readers), the chef told us you either love it or hate it. I had never seen this uber-gaucho dish served at a restaurant before. The bone is cut length-wise and the marrow seasoned and grilled till it was crunchy on top and bubbling and velvety below. Personally I loved it. The picada also included extra-chunky pork pate with lashings of tannat rosado, a pungent goats cheese, zesty marinaded vegetables (escabeche) and a confit made from zinfandel grapes.
We stayed for lunch which is highly recommended. The chef worked previously at Uruguay’s most famous casino hotel in Punta del Este.
At Artesana, he is working with local ingredients using the classic Uruguayan parrilla or grill to create extremely fresh, unusual dishes.
Our ultra-lean cut of beef (entraña) was accompanied by three different types of puré – pumpkin with fire-toasted corn, sweet potato mash with chorizo bites and mashed potato with leek – all toasted on a griddle resting on the parrilla embers.
Want to know about other hidden gems in Uruguay?
Here are some of our recent finds.
Il Tano Suites – 420-friendly Punta del Diablo hotel
Your suite with private deck, close to secluded beaches, next to Pdd’s best restaurant. Probably the best value of all Punta del Diablo hotels.
Remanso del Diablo Boutique Hotel – on the beach magic
Dreaming of a hotel on the beach in Uruguay? Your private terrace looks directly to the ocean at this magical boutique hotel nestled amongst the dunes.
Bar El Mingus – Chill Out Restobar & Tuesday Jazz
El Mingus is a one of the best restaurants in Montevideo–cool, contemporary, with the intimacy of an old-school bar. We love the great food & live music.
Maralto – Oceanside vacation rentals in La Pedrera
Vacation rentals can be a bit of a lottery in Rocha, the province of Uruguay with many of the nation’s best beaches. Maralto ticks all the right boxes.
Cabaña de Veronica – Great steak & Uruguay asado
The Port Market–Disneyland for carnivores–is not to be missed but avoid the tourist traps! At Veronica’s, you’re guaranteed great steak & Uruguayan asado.
Baco – Montevideo’s top wine restaurant
A French bistro with probably the longest wine list in the city and multiple by-the-glass choices is one of the best new Montevideo restaurants by far.
Casa Flor – live the Uruguay coast like a local (VIP)
One of the very best hotels near Punta del Este, whose well-connected owners will give you access to the secrets of Uruguay’s coast most can only dream of.
Il Tano Cucina – pasta & seafood in Punta del Diablo
One of the best seafood restaurants in Punta del Diablo & open all year round. Family-run, it’s minutes from the ocean & specialises in home-made pastas.
Looking for something more specific?
Go directly to our favourite Places to Stay, Activities or Restaurants.
We took some friends to Artesana Winery based on your recommendation and it was better than I expected! The winery is small but beautiful. We opted to eat lunch with our tasting and honestly it was the best decision we could have made. We all left completely stuffed, a little drunk, and happy. Take the hour or so trip from Montevideo here and enjoy a lovely afternoon. You will not regret it! My husband and I can’t wait to be able to go again soon.
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 11/12/2017]
I can agree that Artesana is well worth a visit! I was staying nearby (at Chacrita del Sur), and my lovely hostess Sole Eguren set up a visit. The grounds are beautiful, and they serve a variety of delicious small plates to accompany their fabulous wines. I highly recommend it!
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 16/01/2018]
Most special day of our 3 weeks in UY, intimate gourmet experience in a rustic contemporary setting overlooking the vineyards after a tour of the vines and taste of the plump grapes. To savor and not be rushed, definitely plan a bulk of your day here….even after four hours we did not want to leave! The WINES are creative, complex and fine, deserving of a separate review. Chef Martin’s food pairings using Artesana grapes as complementary ingredients were outstanding – definitely do the full offerings with lunch, and you will not be disappointed! We used Guru’Guay’s guidebook to select a winery for our designated wine day, choosing Artesana based on its intimacy, women owners, and the gourmet food aspect. JUST DO IT!!!
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 06/06/2018]
A wonderful place to visit. The personnel are all charming, informal and engaging. The wines are lovely, and the lunch was outstanding. Our afternoon here was a highlight of our entire trip.
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 24/09/2018]
I had to come back to add to my previous review. It’s been a year and change since our first visit to Artesana. Since then we’ve come back at least three times. The quality of service and hospitality here is out of this world. The food is always changing to local ingredients available. After an afternoon of tasting and eating the calming view, along with a nice Uruguayan breeze, will be sure to tempt you into taking a nap right in your seat. I love this place and will be coming here for years to come.
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 23/02/2019]
The Guru’guay encouraged us to visit Artesana, and we were so glad we took that recommendation! Due to timing, we didn’t want to take the lunch option, but the tasting alone came with substantial “snacks” that really comprised a meal. The wines were all good, and we ended up buying several bottles, which we don’t always do. The setting was beautiful and relaxing, and the service was friendly and beautifully paced. I would certainly go back!
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 31/03/2019]
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