Harvest 2025: adapting by force

Weather conditions continue to challenge us as producers, while Uruguay strengthens its Atlantic wine style.

by Martín Viggiano

The 2024-2025 season once again challenged us as winegrowers. This may not sound like anything new, as growing conditions in Uruguay have always been very complex. However, this harvest, we once again faced extreme situations that put us to the test. In this report, we'll review the headlines of the harvest, marked, among other things, by a very warm February—in fact, the hottest in the last 45 years, no less.

For Bodega Cerro del Toro , this was our eighth harvest. We felt the maturity of the vineyard and our team's quest to interpret the location. We were able to harvest the grapes in very good health and with outstanding characteristics, which are resulting in high-quality wines for our standards. During this time, we have grown acreage of Albariño, the project's flagship variety, with which we strive to convey the full coastal character of our land. This is without neglecting the other varieties with which we also identify as producers. But the local and international success of this Galician white, adopted by Uruguay, motivates us to continue experimenting to discover new limits of expression and quality; that's what we're working on.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN FEBRUARY?

The winter of 2024 was mixed, with a cold May and the remaining months of the season within or slightly below normal temperatures. In the final analysis, however, this resulted in a slightly above-average number of chilling hours. Vines need chilling during the dormant period, before starting a new cycle, so in this case, it was a decent winter.

Spring then brought normal, well-timed rainfall, fairly well distributed for the vineyard's needs during a key development period, avoiding significant water restrictions. The key factor was that we recorded an average temperature of between 1 and 1.5 degrees Celsius higher during that season, which marked the cycle with moderately early bud break. But as summer began, we saw a marked change in the weather, with nights that were quite cold for the season, something that lasted approximately until mid-January. At that point, everything looked like a rather cool summer: vacationers on the beach suffered a drop in temperature due to the sea breezes, the same ones that reach our vineyards at the foot of the Atlantic. Until February arrived.

The second month of the year was very atypical in terms of temperatures. This was reflected by the Uruguayan Meteorological Institute (Inumet) in its quarterly summer bulletin: "The average temperature showed strong variability, with an anomalously cold December and an exceptionally strong February, ranking first among the warmest in the last 45 years ."

The Inumet maps are eloquent regarding the temperature change between the summer months, which, as mentioned, saw a rather cold December and early January with temperature anomalies up to 3.5 degrees below average, and a completely abnormal February with high temperature records.

Regarding rainfall, although the final tally shows a season with fewer millimeters of rain than the historical average, the concentration of rainy days in February also forced us to make decisions and pay close attention to the harvest. Most of the grape varieties are harvested during the second month of the year. While short-cycle, early-ripening varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and most Albariño varieties were already harvested by the time the significant rainfall occurred, we still had a long way to go while we raised our gaze to the sky before heading out to harvest.

Thus, February 2025 upset the conditions that had been present since the beginning of spring. In addition to being the hottest of the season, it was also the rainiest month of the year, measured both in days and in precipitation volume.

CONCLUSIONS

The vine goes through a succession of annual cycles throughout its life. In each one, cultivation is guided by humans and is strongly influenced by soil and climate. Of these three main variables, the one that most decisively influences each season is the weather. That's why we pay attention to rain, sunshine, and temperature. The rest changes little.

The 2025 harvest was a year of contrasts, making it difficult to categorize. In any case, as the wines enter the maturation stage in the winery, we could say the result is very good, and we will have high-quality whites and reds. Generally speaking, the alcohol levels are normal or slightly above normal, though still within Uruguayan parameters. And the reds, depending on the variety, offer great expression and promise a long life.

Not to limit myself to general and personal assessments, I was very surprised by Merlot, a red variety deeply rooted in Uruguay that, however, doesn't receive much press, yet was able to shine this harvest. And although it may seem repetitive, Albariño once again demonstrates its ability to adapt to our country, producing, once again, wines that stand out.

As always, the passage of time will take its toll until each of us can evaluate the fruits of our labor in the cup.