Nestled among the sun-drenched cattle-grazing pasture lands in northwestern Uruguay’s Atlantic coast Maldonado region, 110 miles from the capital city, Montevideo, and just 11 miles from the sea, Bodega Garzón is but one element of the Bulgheroni’s sprawling 10,000 acre sustainable Agroland endeavor. Along with wine and olive oil, agricultural products produced on the property include beef, almonds, pecans, and honey. Blessed with cooling sea breezes, predictable rainfall, and a sunny, temperate climate, the Agroland property has proved ideal for viticulture.

“First we thought the land was perfect for olive trees and pressing estate oil, like in Italy,” noted Mr. Bulgheroni, who is proud of his family’s Italian heritage. “But as in Tuscany, it also seemed perfect for grapes and nut trees. When you grow trees you need bees for pollination, so you get honey. It all fits together.”

Agroland is being developed and managed in the most eco-friendly manner possible. In creating the vineyards, for example, care was taken to maintain the natural contour of the land, rather than using heavy earth-moving equipment to engineer the topography, as is often the case with projects of this scale. Under the watchful eyes of famed Italian enologist Alberto Antonini, the consulting winemaker, viticulturist, and a partner in the project, the resulting vineyards are beautifully set within a natural amphitheatre-like bowl, formed by the surrounding low-rise hills and overlooked by the winery above.

“It is beautiful,” said Bulgheroni, “but also highly efficient. We are not only creating a business here, but also a land-use model of low input agriculture, sustainability, and energy conservation, that we hope will be emulated by others around the globe. We look first to the natural elements for what we need, like energy and cooling.” Pointing from the winery’s observation deck at a distant ridge, he indicated a row of giant wind generators, which, along with solar panels, supply forty percent of the facility’s electricity.

Bodega Garzón has applied for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. According to Carlos Hartmann, the project’s supervising architect, it is the first winery in Latin American to do so. On a recent tour of the facility, Hartmann pointed out eco-friendly aspects of the winery’s design. First, the building is built on a rocky outcrop, which, as with the surrounding hills, forms part of the Brazilian shelf of granite that extends out into the Atlantic Ocean. The subterranean levels of the facility are built against the bare stone, which constantly seeps water into gravel-filled concrete trenches. The ever-present sea breezes are channeled along the trenches, picking up cool, moist air that circulates under its on flow up through the other levels of the building. Lighting in the lower levels is augmented with strategically placed skylights; large plate glass windows provide most of the illumination needed in the upper levels. A green roof of indigenous regional plants covers 23,000 square feet of the facility, about a third of the total roof space. Finally, production is based on a gravity-fed system, with the grapes entering on an upper level for sorting and pressing, and the flow of juice working its way down to the fermenting, aging, and, eventually, bottling levels. The whole, as Hartmann was quick to point out, makes the bodega a natural candidate for LEED certification.

“The level of green detail in this building is truly impressive,” insists the architect. “It shows the Bulgheronis’ dedication to the vision of creating something unique and of global value.”

Despite the natural beauty of its surroundings, the stunning architecture and cutting- edge energy efficiency of the production facility, and the overall green commitment of the project, the primary focus at Bodega Garzón is where it should be: on the wine. Antonini, who joined the team at the project’s early development stage, has had a great impact on all aspects of the winemaking process, from vineyard design and clone selection to fermentation, aging, and flavor profiles.

Though they also produce Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Noir, and a Pinot Noir rosé, Antonini’s primary focus is on Tannat and Albariño, relatively cool climate varietals that thrive in Uruguay’s temperate climatic. Tannat was brought to the country in the nineteenth century by Basque settlers from the French Pyrénées, where it is still widely planted. In France, it is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and other varietals and aged for up to two years or more in oak, producing a dark, full-bodied, high- alcohol wine, with aggressive tannins and long ageability. In Uruguay, however, the local Tannat vineyards produce wines that are softer and more elegant, with black and red summer berry flavors and silky tannins.

“Here at Bodega Garzón,” noted Antonini, “we use very little oak; instead, we emphasize the fruit in the Tannat, which is luscious and pronounced.”

In fact, the only oak barrels in evidence at the winery are in the subterranean wine club area, where a limited number of reserve Tannat is aging. Instead, Antonini prefers to age the wine in special tanks produced onsite using a high-tech concrete blend that is hydraulically compacted to produce extremely dense walls. Cooling coils are embedded in the walls to maintain optimum temperature throughout the ageing process (a small portion of the wine is aged in untoasted, 3,000 liter casks). Also, rather than using stainless steel, the winery ferments in large amphora-shaped and temperature-controlled concrete tanks imported from Italy.

“In Italy, we began returning to concrete fermentation and aging a number of years ago,” said Antonini. “For my father’s generation, concrete was a big negative, since the old tanks were prone to contamination by all sorts of bacteria. But the new concrete tanks are very state-of-the art. They allow us to control the wine through long periods of fermentation and aging without fear of contamination.”

Whatever the alchemy, the resulting wine is beautifully made, smooth on the palate, and wonderfully fresh. In a blind tasting, the Tannat showed rich aromas of wild summer berries, ripe cherry, fresh herbs, heather, and briny minerals. It was smooth on the palate, with black cherry, boysenberry, and raspberry, notes of chocolate, and a touch of peppery spice. Overall it was well structured, with soft tannins and a slightly spicy finish.

By focusing on Albariño in his white wine program, the winemaker showed his genious in matching the right varietal to soil, climate, and terrior. Eschewing the current Spanish tendency to beef up sugar levels and, in the case of some wineries, barrel age a portion or all of their wine, Antonini makes Albriño in a minimalist fashion, keeping the wine as clean, crisp, and true to the fruit as possible. Tasted blind, this wine exhibited floral and fruit aromas of jasmine, pear, white peach, apple, and citus, over crisp minerals and a touch of brine. It was clean and refreshing on the palate, with citrus, green apple, nectarine, and flintly mineral flavors. It finished dry, and with great acidity. Both the Tannat and the Albriño retail for under $20, making them excellent choices for almost any wine list, and good by-the-glass selections for a reasonable price.

Considering the emotional and monetary commitment Alejandro and Bettina Bulgheroni brought to the project, the quality of the Bodega Garzón’s wines is no surprise. What does astonish, though, is that they are currently developing 30 major projects in other places around the globe, including additional vineyards and winemaking operations. “The number of projects we are managing worldwide is truly amazing, even to me,” said Carlos Hartmann.

Along with Bodega Garzón, the Bulgheronis’ current wine operations include the Podere Brizio wine estate in Montalcino, the Dievole estate in Chianti Classico, the Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate Napa Valley vineyards and winery, and Bodega Vistalba in Argentina. According to famed Argentine wine impresario Carlos Pulenta, who is a partner in the Bulgheroni wine operations, they are also considering a major investment in Bordeaux. “It’s the next logical step,” said Pulenta, “but we are taking time to find the right property for us.”

“What we are doing in wine and agriculture is very special,” added Alejandro Bulgheroni. “We believe we can make an important contribution there in terms of sustainability and innovation. Food and wine are the essence of life.”