Uruguay's golden age

CUVM vines Maldonado

With a preponderance of small, family-owned wineries and distinctively fresh, individualistic wines – both red and white – this South American country has upped its game. Pictured above is CUVM's gravelly Ter Admirabilis vineyard, west of the town of Garzón and about 23 km/14 miles from the coast.

Most people whose travel was restricted in 2020 and 2021 blamed it on the pandemic. But I had another reason, one that stretched into 2022: the new, fifth edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine tied me to my keyboard (proofs glaring at me as I write, publication set for 14 September)...