Our second Uruguay tour began in Montevideo at the Tandory restaurant – a very highly rated establishment in Montevideo. Chef Gabriel has a reputation for top class, locally sourced produce and creating some Asian fusion dishes that add subtle nuances to the Uruguayan cuisine. As ever, he didn’t disappoint. Spicy empanadas and a variety of sharing starters were followed by a choice of beef fillet, fish or pork. All washed down with some delicious Merlot and Albarino.
The weather decided not to be cooperative for our time in Montevideo and having had sunny bright days on the first tour, we endured a rather wet and windy few days. Our first full day took us to Bodegas Quinton near Colonia del Sacramento, on the first of two big days which allowed us to explore as much diversity of the Urugayan wine scene as possible. The Chivietti family set the estate up in 2006 and as they hail from Argentina have decided to focus on Malbec as opposed to Tannat.
We were hosted by the lovely Faccundo who took us for a tour around the vines and olive groves and then we headed over to the olive oil facility where we learnt a lot about high quality extra virgin olive oil production. From there into the wine cellar for a selection of three wines, local cheeses (Colonia is a major centre for artisanal cheese) and meats and a couple of olive oils. This prepared our stomachs nicely for the wonderful asado lunch which we took indoors in a lovely dining room with a huge open fire that was cooking a delicious array of meats. The rain tipped down but it was nice and warm inside!
