Efectos de la reconversión varietal en la vitivinicultura uruguaya

The varietal viticultural reconversion began in Uruguay in 1970 in a private manner and in 1990 the State established and consolidated it through the Pilot Program of Reconversion of Vineyards and subsequently the Program of Reconversion and Development of the Farm. Uruguayan wine experienced a renewal of its vines and its varieties, as well as its handling. Both the wine industry and the marketing of the product have been transformed, so the reconversion involves the three production phases: the primary, the industrial and the commercial. As a result of this process, Uruguay began producing fine wines in the domestic market and embarked on exportation.

The objective of this work was to understand the effects of the reconversion in Uruguayan viticulture through the opinion supported in the actuality of the same winemakers who experimented with it in its companys. It was intended to know the judgement that the process holds in general and its consequences, as well as evaluating the benefits of the same and discussing the paper when unpacking the products.

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with twelve wine producers in the reconversion process, appreciating the distinct production sizes and the two main winemaking regions of the country: Canelones/Montevideo and Colonia, with the aim of knowing their experiences and opinions regarding the historical process, its consequences and the actuality of the sector.

All the respondents responded in a similar way to the majority of the points, without encountering differences at the level of the geographical region or scale as the products.

There was consensus among those who thought that the reconversion was an success. This was what allowed Uruguayan viticulture to remain competitive in the face of the growing import of wines given the processes of economic opening. There is an increase in national wine sales and an increase in exports.

Although the disappearance of many producers, especially the smaller ones, is a fact, the interviewees did not blame the process for this, and sayed that anyone was disabled to reconvert. The bibliographic review shows that the disappearance of the products, mainly in the lower scale extracts, had begun previously.

The high production costs and the competition with imported wines are now presented as the main problems of the sector.