Christian Wylie is a champion of Uruguayan wines and brings passion and enthusiasm with him everywhere he goes.
“I’m passionate about wine,” says Christian Wylie, managing director at Bodega Garzón. He recently returned from a presentation in ProWine São Paulo and was preparing for a trip to the U.S. the following week. Selling and educating people around the world about Tannat from a small wine region in South America is a challenging task. But Wylie is someone who embraces challenges.
Bodega Garzón, located in Maldonado, Uruguay, holds a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certificate, offers luxury experiences to nearly 32,000 visitors annually and houses a restaurant owned by renowned chef Francis Mallmann.
Wylie’s first visit to Uruguay was when he was 25 years old and playing rugby. Little did he know then how much this country would impact on his personal and professional life. Born in Chile, the former rugby player studied agricultural engineering with a specialization in fruticulture and enology at the Catholic University. He furthered his studies at U.C. Davis in California and completed a postgraduate senior management program at ESE Business School in Chile. Before joining Bodega Garzón, Wylie worked as a winemaker and manager at various wineries in Chile and Uruguay. Ultimately, he fell in love with the land of Tannat, where he also met his Uruguayan wife and now resides with his family.
Hired by Alejandro Bulgheroni a few years after he founded Garzón, Wylie was quickly promoted to managing director in 2016, increasing worldwide sales from 25,000 cases to over 150,000. However, selling Uruguayan wine was only the beginning. The executive successfully positioned Bodega Garzón as one of the top producers of fine wine in South America. In 2017, its flagship wine, Balasto, entered La Place de Bordeaux, making it the third South American wine to be distributed by the négociants, following Almaviva and Seña. This was a significant milestone for the young winery and burgeoning region.
Although having Alberto Antonini as a wine consultant and a talented local winemaker like Germán Bruzzone might suggest that selling wines of the quality of Bodega Garzón’s would be relatively easy, this is not achieved without effort as there are many excellent wines worldwide from regions with a long winemaking history. However, Wylie managed to position this new winery in 60 countries. “The key to overcoming challenges is perseverance,” he says. Wylie explains that being humble and persistent is the best way to approach the market.
After many years in the industry, he firmly believes that to succeed, “you always have to be on the road,” and emphasizes that the saying “out of sight, out of mind” is true, especially in the U.S. With its wines available in 42 states, one can say that Bodega Garzón has made a lasting impression on American consumers.
But, Whylie points out, “There are still many great things to accomplish.” For his perseverance, work ethic and passion for sharing Uruguayan wines around the world, Wine Enthusiast proudly honors Christian Wylie as Wine Executive of the Year in the 2023 Wine Star Awards.
Published: November 7, 2023
