Five Latin American wineries chosen among 10 best in the world

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An Argentine winery was considered the best in the world for the third consecutive year, according to the ranking The World’s Best Vineyards, prepared by nearly 600 international experts and which includes four other Latin American wineries among the top 10.

Zuccardi Valle de Uco, located in the Argentine province of Mendoza, leads again in 2021 the list that evaluates wineries’ facilities and the quality of their products to choose the 100 best wine tourism destinations in the world.

“We are delighted. It is an important recognition for us and also for the region because it is an international jury, broad, that rotates year by year,” Miguel Zuccardi, one of the winery’s managers, told AFP.

“This allows us to continue putting Mendoza, and the Uco Valley in particular, on the world’s top wine map,” he added.

The ranking, prepared annually by nearly 600 sommeliers, wine experts, and luxury travel journalists worldwide, rates places to taste and learn about wine and grape growing, as well as winery architecture, views, restaurants, and hotels.

Uruguayan winery Garzón is, in fourth place, the second-best ranked Latin American winery and also appears again in the top 5 for the third consecutive year; in 2019 and 2020, it had been second, behind Zuccardi.

“It is a great honor for Bodega Garzón to be among the top five winery and vineyard destinations in the world,” Christian Wylie, the winery’s general manager, told AFP. “It is essential to make us known worldwide. And also nationally. It is a place of prominence, of honor, which positions Uruguay in the world”.

For Wylie, the mention is critical in the context of the pandemic, during which the tourism sector has been hit hard. At this time, it is good for the international tourist “to know that in Uruguay there is something of this world level so that they come to know it”, he considered.

The ten wineries that lead the list published this week are: Zuccardi Valle de Uco (Argentina), Marqués de Riscal (Spain), Chateau Margaux (France), Bodega Garzón (Uruguay), Montes (Chile), Antinori nel Chianti Classico (Italy), Catena Zapata (Argentina), Viña VIK (Chile), González Byass-Bodegas Tío Pepe (Spain) and Creation (South Africa).