The country’s top winemakers, designers, and an army of stylish globe-trotters have ventured inland to Pueblo Edén.
When fiery star chef Francis Mallmann opened a tiny hotel and restaurant in the one-horse town of Garzón, in southeastern Uruguay, he paved the way for the arrival of an art gallery, a design shop, and a sprawling winery, along with a crowd of fashionable globe-trotters who spend their winters around José Ignacio. Now those with the inside track are turning their sights on Pueblo Edén, another small township, just 45 minutes away from cool beachfront bars doling out white sangria and bossa nova beats. Until recently only a few knew about the area’s curiously rocky hills or the local farmer who serves barbecued lamb behind his rancho.
A private pool deck at Sacromonte, Uruguay.People started talking in 2016, with the opening of Viña Edén, a strikingly modern winery owned by Brazilian-Uruguyan financier Mauricio Zlatkin. The estate’s sharply angled glass-and-metal building is a sculptural presence atop Cerro Negro, an 800-foot promontory overlooking rolling pastures. Zlatkin works with a skilled team to create wines that reflect the area’s minerality, including a smooth unoaked tannat, Uruguay’s signature red. And now a short drive away is the new Sacromonte, a boutique hotel comprising 12 futuristic cabins with glass walls and minimalist furnishings.
Rolling vineyards surround Sacromonte’s high-design rooms
Behind this forward-thinking design is a back-to-nature ethos: the idea that guests will be inspired by the raw beauty that surrounds them, and delighted by simple pleasures like sharing a locally sourced meal with fellow travelers. Local flavors are also the focus at Mesa 41, a supper club inside the chic, rustic home of Belgian chef Fons de Muynck and his partner, ceramic artist Eléonore de Wailly. Pueblo Edén may be stepping into the spotlight, but it still feels refreshingly rugged and separate.
Source: CondeNast Traveler