This is a Guru’Guay Top Pick
Guru’Guay only recommends businesses and service providers in Uruguay that we absolutely love, who love what they do and demonstrate constant quality.
How and why we choose Guru’Guay Top Picks
We’d love to hear about your experience. Please share in the comments below.
Looking for a high-quality, full-bodied yet refined expression of Uruguay’s flagship wine, Tannat? Pisano Wines are ready to satiate you with their award-winning private family reserve. The Pisano brothers export to 48 countries but they don’t do tours. They’re too busy ‘cooking’ wine.
Eduardo, Gustavo and Daniel are fourth generation wine makers. Great grandfather Francisco came to Uruguay from Liguria in Italy. He bagged the land where Pisano Wines is based in 1870. Now a small town in Canelones, just 20 minutes from Montevideo, Progreso has a Burgundy type soil (clay) with a Bordeaux (Atlantic) climate.
Gustavo, the youngest, is the winemaker—the creative brain behind Pisano‘s 90+ points with Decanter and Tim Atkins. Eduardo, the agronomist, produces the excellent quality grapes. And Daniel, the oldest with the biggest moustache, is the export guy. All three were born at the vineyard, where their 96-year old mum still lives (and yes, she lunches and dines with wine), and they live next-door.
Family is all important to their wine style. “Geographically, we’re in the New World, but culturally and by wine style, we are Old Continent” says Daniel. “We are wine cooks who follow the traditions and recipes of our father and our grandfather before him, while applying our own creativity and intelligence”.
“We are part of where we live,” says Daniel. “Pisano is not a business, it’s a way of life“.
The RPF—literally, the Personal Reserve of the Family—is their flagship line. It represents their big personalities and the terrior of their part of Progreso.
Other icons are Pisano Arretxea—their family names of their parents. Arretxea just like Tannat is of Basque origin. Of course, Pisano Arretxea is a Tannat. Their top top line is Axis Mundi, which is only produced in years when the Tannat is particularly exceptional.
The Río de los Pájaros line, which is the name of Uruguay in the indigenous Guaraní language (River of Painted Birds) represents Uruguay locally.
The white Albariño has adapted particularly well to Uruguay, and at Pisano, people are loving them. They also produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot (originally from Bordeaux) and Pinot Noir (originally from Burgundy). All of the varieties love the southern Uruguayan terroir.
Pisano also has a forty-year production of Torrontés and believe they are possibly the only Uruguayan winery producing it. Daniel says that the combination of this Argentine grape and the Uruguayan maritime climate produces a elegant, very floral white.
Given the prestige nationally and internationally of Pisano, people are surprised to learn the winery is relatively small producing on just 30 hectares. Half of Pisano wines are exported, and the other half stay in Uruguay. Most exports go to the USA. Followed to a lesser extent by Europe, Brazil, small Caribbean islands, Mexico, Canada, Japan, China, and Australia.
Pisano Wine is not open for wine tours. However, if Guru’Guay visitors go to the winery to buy and if one of the brothers is free, they’ll be happy to uncork for tasting and give you a quick walk around.
Pisano Wines does welcome professional visits by appointment.
If you’re based in Uruguay, you’re in luck. There are weekday walk-in sales at the winery and a door-to-door delivery service contacting the number below.
pisanowines.com
Ruta 68 km 29, Progreso, Canelones Department, Uruguay
Phone and WhatsApp +598 99 285 176
Email pisano@pisanowines.com
Distributor in the US Total Wine
Distributors in the UK Ellis of Richmond and The Wine Society
Walk-in cellar door wine sales welcomed Monday to Friday 08:00 am to 05:30 pm. Open for professional visits by appointment only (please make a written request).
Photos: Pisano Wines
Proudly made in Uruguay
Follow us
Subscribe
To receive two emails a month about travel, life and sometimes investment opportunities in Uruguay
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
What’s your interest in Uruguay?
Travel interests
Store
About us
Guru’Guay is part of UruguayNatural, the official country brand of Uruguay
Proudly made in Uruguay
Follow us
Subscribe
To receive two emails a month about travel, life and sometimes investment opportunities in Uruguay
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
© Guru’Guay 2013 – 2023. All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission.
Language
3 Responses
Many thanks Kevin for your interest and kind words! May I ask which TW&M you are located next? On a future visit we do to that specific store, we will try to leave a small token to your name for your support. Warm regards from Uruguay and the Pisano Family! 😃😃😃
After reading the article the Pisano wines and seeing that Pisano distributes to Total Wine, I went out that same day to my local TW and bought the ‘RPF Tannat Reserve Personal de la Familia’ and the ‘Tannat Rio de los Pajaros’. We opened the Tannat Reserve and absolutley loved it. I wouldn’t even have thought to look for this wine, but now Pisano is on our To Buy lists for the future. Thanks for the article and, Pisano, thank you for your wine!
💃💃🍷🍷 this is so great to read!! Thanks, Kevin! I’m sure the Pisano bros are going to be delighted — Karen