13 Mar 2025
Eight of us, from cruise ship Volendam, took the tour and lunch at Castillo Viejo. They arranged transport to and from(extra charge) the port which we really appreciated so we were able to travel together. We toured the vineyard and processing of the wine at the humble, small family-owned winery. We sampled their special, and delicious, Pinot Noir Rose, as we walked the winery grounds and observed the very authentic wine production as it has been done for a hundred years! Alvaro walked us thru, in English, the entire process. Then we went into the Cava for tasting of their Tannat wines and a spectacular lunch, with a large succulent beef steak as the centerpoint. We tasted 5 wines during the 3 course meal, and Alvaro explained each of them so we could appreciate how the wine was complemented by the various foods. A wonderfully rustic experience and especially different from the tastings at the large commercial wineries. You really must eat lunch with the wine to truly appreciate the complex tastes of the Uruguayan Tannat red wines. Super personable experience at a very very reasonable price! Well worth the trip out to the countryside!