Interviews
Antigua Bodega Stagnari has a largen important line of wines, fairly large. Does it cover all the market segments? Are there any special lines for export which are not sold in the domestic market?
Each different line has its public who demands a good ratio price-quality. There is the Del Pedregal line which is the largest and in which we have varieties and blends and which is for a middle public. Then we go to the Prima Donna which is for a more demanding publc, and it also has its niche for sales. It follows a Reserve line under the name Del Pedregal from the harvest of 2005 for which we only have a Tannat and now, finally, we launched Osiris with two varieties, a Tannat and a Merlot, always trying to increase the quality. In our country sometimes it happens that we engage with a product and promise to keep a certain quality and later, due to climatic matters, we cannot obtain the grapes in their optimum state and then we cannot continue with that line. This is the case with Del Pedregal Reserve 2005, we will not produce the harvest 2006 because the product obtained came from grapes which did not render the same quality.
There is a discussion among Uruguayan winemakers: some of them support the varieties and some others support the blends... Which is the position of Antigua Bodega Stagnari?
In our classic lines, we make blends and varieties, but our premium wines are only varieties. That is our policy.
Which are the markets you are selling your wines for?
Our foreign markets are Mexico, Sweden, Belgium and Costa Rica, and we are exporting all of our lines.
All your vineyards are located in Santos Lugares?
We have vineyards here and also in Melilla, more or less 1,5 kilometers from here, in the district of Montevideo. Here the land is very special, this is the only region in our country where you can find this gravel called pink granite. If you look around you will see that we are surrounded by quarries, here we have one meter depth with soil and underneath we have this material which is the best for vines because it prevents the roots to be in permanent contact with humidity, the plant absorbs what it need and then it stops.
Speaking about vines, which are the varieties you have?
Here in Santos Lugares we have merlot -we obtain the Prima Donna Merlot from here- some sangiovesse -which is an Italian variety we introduced only a few years ago, to certain extent because all the varieties we had were from French origin and we wanted to grow something with our same origin-, we are waiting the vines to get more structure before producing the fine wine, and we also have tannat, though very little. In Melilla we have syrah, cabernet sauvignon, tannat, chardonay, sauvignon blanc and cabernet franc. Our total production area is of 38 hectares. We make the fine wines exclusively with our own grapes, that is why reaching the market with a product of good quality means betting for weather to be on your side.
Being a typical Uruguayan family-owned winery, how many generations are now activelly participating in Antigua Bodega Stagnari?
Currently my father, my sister and I, and my daughter Mariana, who has already graduated as an oenologist, are working here. That makes three generations, some of them giving their experience, and the other, the new ideas.
Is fermentation done in basins, or in stainless steel tanks?
The first step is in stainless steel tanks and then the wine goes to oak barrels, according to the product, it may be months, or years. Osiris is a wine with 13 or 14 months in barrels. We use American barrels and also French barrels. All our aging is in oak barrels, we do not use any other kind of aging.
Do you receive support from abroad as regards the oenologic process?
Mariana has worked as a trainee in Australia and California, and remains in permanent contact exchanging opinions with the oenologists. They are not straightly advisors, but experience helps one side and the other.
Which of your wines do you personally prefer to put on your table?
Our merlot.
So straightly?
Yes, and I will explain why. Merlot is a variety that people do not know. It is perfect that Uruguay be known by the tannat, it is the flagship of our country. We are leaders in tannat because we brought forward the tannat to the world. France had it but used it in an assemblage where it was unnoticed. Tannat opened the doors for us. It also received very good press regarding health, the benefits of tannins... then the public hang on it and started drinking tannat. But some persons taste the tannat and say: "I don't like it". What happens then? That public who drank and disliked tannat moved to the cabernet sauvignon, because cabernet sauvignon is the variety we traditionally recognize in red wines. But merlot is a variety that adapts spectacularlyto our climate and our soil, it can be paired with any kind of food. We have proved this with the public that attends our tastings, once they taste the merlot, once they discover it, they adopt it. The problem is that on supermarket shelves you will find very little merlot because it has low rotation. I assume its defense because it is a variety that we should give more promotion to, at least in the domestic market.
What do you think of white wines?
There is not much consumption of white wine. We have, in the line Del Pedregal, a Chardonnay, and in the line Prima Donna, a Sauvignon Blanc, but we are not interested in enlarging the lines with more white wines because consumption is very scarce.
Do you develop any particular technique for harvesting?
We try to harvest during the night so that the grapes arrive to the winery early and at 6 in the morning we start processing with the temperature from the night. Another tecnique is that each plot is harvested twice, first we select the ripe clusters, then we wait ten days and collect the remaining clusters. And of course we perform thinning and leaf plucking... we give a lot of cares to the vineyard.
As regards points of sale, is the Uruguayan people getting accustomed to buying their wines at liqueur stores? Which is the consumer's profile?
Here in Uruguay there are very few points of sale that can give you a personalized attention, but I see that people who enjoy good wines are buying at those stores. That is the place where I would go to buy a good wine.
Where are your products sold abroad, in liqueur stores or supermarkets?
We are interested in the niche of sales to restaurants or specialized liqueur stores. We are not interested in large stores. First of all because we do not produce large quantities, and also because we do not have a competitive price to position our wines together with the wines from other countries.
How can a winery like Antigua Bodega Stagnari introduce its wines in the local gastronomic market when there are other companies which, with a great marketing and economic support, adopt very aggressive commercial policies?
You enter with quality. Demonstrating that you have a good product, that the public asks for it, that is the way to get in. That is why our company policy is to ellaborate good quality products. To stand out by quality, by being different and by offering a good quality-price ratio. It is the only manner you have to deal with giant colleagues who have different supports than ours.
How do you envision Antigua in ten years?
Our goals are to develop the foreign market -here in Uruguay the consumer market is not big and there are many wineries with good products-, in our country the imported wines are bringing down the consumption of local wines, then I believe that we have to look and aim outside, without forgetting the domestic market. We are nowadays shipping a large order to Costa Rica and another one for Mexico, which is their second order, and which is larger than the first one.
And Brazil?
Brazil is a market where we are looking for an importer, because as a market it is amazing. We went there last year and I was dazzled by the wine stores they have, and the service they render in gastronomy. It is very impressive to see how they have imrpoved, with a purchasing power ranging from high to superior. Then, it is a market we have to reach, it is one of the doors that we have to open.
Does the Government grant any support?
Sometimes we get support from certain PACC-Pymes programs, but 80% is from the wineries' own pockets. We need to take part in fairs, to go out and organize tastings... Once a year we go to Mexico and organize a tasting to be close to our clients. And we do it through sheer grit.
How do you see the changes in INAVI and in Wines of Uruguay?
Wines of Uruguay is very important, as it is in other countries where we can already see what they are and what they accomplished. But the story is the same: resources are poor and that makes difficult to carry out certain initiatives. It is difficult to choose which is the best. Nevertheless, I see that the steps taken lately by Wines of Uruguay were very good and necessary. As regards INAVI... let's wait until they finish organizing themselves -as they say- because every time one goes and requests anything they answer "we are getting organized". Let's wait.
Does wine tourism fit within the tourism plans at the national level?
Yes, perfectly. I think it is another option that the tourist is looking for. We belong to Uruguay Wine Tours, and we see that visiting wineries is one of the most demanded activities by tourists. In our winery we receive a lot of Brazilian and American tourists. In this year, some interesting events were organized such as the Tannat and Lamb Festival, the Harvest Day, the Prune Day. On the Tannat and Lamb Festival we received 35 visitors from the Embassy of the United States and they were crazy about it, they promised to return for the next one. We have a lot to do and the Ministry of Tourism is giving us good support.
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