URUGUAY WINE TRAILS: THE RIVER PLATE AND BEYOND

 

A JOURNEY TO DISCOVER THE ROOTS OF URUGUAY WINES

A 2500 kilometre journey across the length and breadth of Uruguay; the hidden secret of South America, that surprises visitors with remarkable wines, incredibly welcoming winemakers, stunning landscapes of pampas, palm trees, vineyards and wild ocean coastline. Tasting the nation’s signature Tannat red wine, introduced by Basque immigrants 150 years ago, and the crisp, fruity white Albarino, brought this time by new arrivals from Galicia, I travelled through the main winemaking regions – Colonia and Carmelo, Montevideo and  Canelones, Maldonado and a hair-raising small aircraft flight across to Rivera by the border with Brazil. Wineries are generally small, family affairs, where winelovers are warmly received, with many vineyards offering comfortable accommodation, fine dining and casual restaurants, alongside extensive tastings and cellar visits. In the vineyard, sustainable cultivation is the order of the day, while in the cellar,  tradition sits comfortably alongside innovation, ageing in traditional oak barrel, cement and steel, even amphorae. And I was not expecting such a wide variety of grapes………Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet but also Tempranillo, Nero d’Avola, Touriga Nacional and Nebbiolo……..Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Viognier but also Moscatel, Traminer, Riesling and Arneis. The first part of the Wine Trail covers Colonia, Carmelo and Montevideo

COLONIA AND CARMELO

A swift ferry from Buenos Aires across the majestic River Plate transports me to Uruguay’s oldest settlement, the charming 17th century colonial town of Colonia del Sacramento. A lazy hour’s drive through flat pampas leads to the main wine-making district around sleepy  Carmelo, where everyone you meet seems to be of Italian origin. Two ancient bodegas sit side by side, Campotinto and Alcamen de la Capilla, the perfect introduction to wine tourism in Uruguay. While the 19th century cantinas look similar, they could not be more different. Campotinto today only dates back to 2013, when Señor Vigano, an Argentine whose grandparents came from near Fiesole, decided to recreate a corner of Tuscany in Uruguay, encompassing vineyard, luxurious posada lodging, restaurant and pool, plus a rustic farmhouse for wine tastings. Newly-planted and spreading over just 4 hectares, Campotinto are beginning to make some interesting barrel-aged and  Tannat  as well as a fun bubbly Medio y Medio, blending Uni Blanc and Moscatel de Hamburgo. Wealthy winelovers can even buy a tiny plot allowing Campotinto’s oenologue to create their own personal vintage. There is a much more old-fashioned ambiance across the road, where five generations of the Cordano family have been making simple, honest wines. They created this ‘alcamen’, general store, in 1855 as a meeting point for Italian immigrants making a new home here. Unchanged today, it is perfect for a tasting accompanied by cheeses, salami and olives produced by neighbouring farms.

And no visit to the Carmelo region is complete without a stay at Narbona, a luxurious 5 room wine lodge where tradition and modernity effortlessly merge: vinifaction takes place in a state-of-the art winery with large casks and barriques,  using new and used wood,  while tastings are held in the original 1909 cantina surrounded by wheels of slowly ageing parmigiano cheese and artisan-cured prosciutto. While wine may be Narbona’s flagship, this is fully functioning farm, producing olive oil, yogurt and jams, homemade gelato and arguably Uruguays best dulce de leche, a sticky-sweet treacly caramel. While the red wines, including the Luz de Luna Tannat and an excellent Pinot Noir, are best discovered in the subterranean cellar, for the Sauvignon Blanc and other whites, guests can enjoy a special treat by taking a selection to taste out on a boat at a nearby yacht club that sails out into the immense waters of the River Plate just as the sun is setting.

MONTEVIDEO and RIVERA

I discovered that some of the country’s best wineries can be visited while based right in the heart of  Uruguay’s fascinating capital city. Montevideo boasts everything from the Sofitel Carrasco, an opulent palace hotel right on the seafront, to the funky Casa Sarandi bed&breakfast for those looking for a bohemian, insider’s experience. I missed out on a tour of the unique boutique winery, Artesana, whose two women winemakers produce Uruguay’s only Zinfandel, but made up for it with a whole day at Bodega Bouza, founded by a family who follow the philosophy of  “we only do things if we can do it well”. Three generations of the Bouza family, whose roots are from Galicia in Spain, still work together today, from the 91 year-old grandfather making cheese for the restaurant, to the father who originally founded a pasta business, and the two sons Jose Manuel and Juan Pablo who run the estancia on day-to-day business under the crucial guidance of one of Uruguay’s top oenologues, Eduardo Boido. This was where I first tasted an unoaked tannat, fresh, fruity and very different from the more mellow, barrel-aged vintages, while lunch at their gourmet restaurant was the moment to discover an outstanding Riesling and Albarino, and a Tempranillo made from a single parcel of vines.


Rather than a taxi, it was a twin-engine Cessna that flew me from Montevideo’s airport right across to the country to the Rivera region that nestles on the border with Brazil. A long, amazing aerial journey with incredible vistas of Uruguay’s natural beauty brought me to another landmark winery,  Cerro Chapeu, overseen by guru oenologist, Dr Francisco Carrau, one of the pioneer founding families of the modern Uruguay wine industry.

The road to Cerro Chapeu follows a dusty red path – the  Camino de la Linea Divisorio, slipping numerous times back and forth across the Brazilian frontier. Seemingly in the wild middle of nowhere, it is a shock to discover such an exciting, modern winery, stretching over 40 hectares planted on sandy, volcanic soil. For sustainability, sheep are used for weeding instead of insecticides, Francisco built the first gravity-fed cellar in South America, and tells me that, “we are always doing trials here, be it using Native yeast, tasting grape juice must, fermenting techniques, and I don’t even know how many different grape varieties we grow – maybe 25!”

  

Cerro Chapeu’s tasting room is decorated, like almost every one in Uruguay, with proud black and white photos of immigrant relatives who arrived from Europe to create a wine industry. Francisco stands next to his forefathers who arrived here in 1929 during the Grand Depression, selling up the family vineyard in Catalonia that dated back to 1752, a date that still figures on their bottles. A Sauvignon left on the lees for 6 months, a crisp mineral Chardonnay and a surprising blend of Viognier with the little known Petit-Marseng preceded the arrival of a mouth-watering asado grill of rib-eye steak that was perfect to appreciate a vertical selection of barrel-aged Tannats, culminating in a wonderfully smoky, elegant  1992 vintage

A foodie trip to Lyon in search of Paul Bocuse

turin b&b  Desperately Seeking Paul Bocuse

a gastronomic tour of Lyon

The grand old man of French cuisine, already feted as Chef of the Century – the 20th Century that is – is still going strong at the age of 88, so I thought this was a good time to make a gourmet pilgrimmage to see Paul Bocuse in Lyon and check out what is new in the city that the French proudly call their Capital of Gastronomy.

One thing is certain, you cannot escape Paul Bocuse, or Monsieur Paul as everyone reverentially refers to him, when you visit Lyon. I was there during the judging of the French awards of the  prestigious Bocuse d’Or, the competition he set up to recognise young culinary talents that has grown into a worldwide event. Then I discover that his renowned culinary school, L’Institut Paul Bocuse, has just opened a smart new restaurant in the centre of town where the cuisine and service is carried out by aspiring students under the watchful eye of their teachers. Fabulous dishes, with surprises like lamb sweetbreads paired with cuttlefish and baby artichokes.

Institute Paul Bocuse restaurant

Institute Paul Bocuse restaurant

Bocuse has just opened his fourth Lyon brasserie, Le Sud, where a hearty three-course lunch menu is priced at 23 euros, and no trip to Lyon is complete without  a visit to the ultimate foodie market, Les Halles de….you guessed, Paul Bocuse. This big, modern covered market certainly has every epicurian temptation you can imagine, from foie gras to oysters, truffles, a panoply of cheeses, including the local favourite Saint-Marcellin, charcuterie, like the tasty Saucisse de Lyon, and quenelles de brochet, the pike-dumplings so loved by the Lyonnais. But prices are not cheap and I found the place lacking a bit of atmosphere, apart from the numerous bars and restaurants – the one not to miss is l’AOC, whose owners, Christophe and Dominique have a great selection of Beaujolais and Rhone wines, including some interesting no-sulphite Vins Naturels.

saucisse de lyon

saucisse de lyon

But no sign anywhere of Monsieur Paul himself. I took the classic foodie Selfie, snapping myself alongside a mural painting of the great chef, but was beginning to get a bit desperate, so decided to take a twenty minute cab out to his legendary gastronomic restaurant, L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges, where he has held the Holy Grail Michelin Three Stars since 1965.

Dining room of L'Auberge

Dining room of L’Auberge

I was met by Madame Bocuse, who still patrols the elegant dining room every day, and had a long chat with Chef Christophe Muller, who has been with Bocuse for over 20 years, and is the man who runs the kitchens on a daily basis.

chef Christophe Muller with a selection of desserts

chef Christophe Muller with a selection of desserts

Although Monsieur Paul had popped in for his regular morning meeting, he was resting that day at home, so I was obviously fated not to meet him this trip. But Chef Muller wouldn’t let me leave without trying two of Bocuse’s signature dishes – Quenelle de Brochet aux Ecrevisses, sauce Nantua, and Soupe aux Truffes Noires VGE, famously created for French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1975 when Bocuse was awarded the Legion d’Honneur.

quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua

quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua

They were not simply good, they were unforgettable. Eating at L’Auberge really is something special, transporting you back into time when Michelin chefs held sway in their sumptuous Temples of Gastronomy. There is no point coming here expecting surprises or innovations, but rather a perfect execution of the basics of classic French cuisine. So forget about calories, let the staff pamper you, and you will be stunned at just how delicious the cuisine is – the fluffy, souffle-like Quenelle was utterly memorable –  even if many of the dishes have been on the menu for 30 years.

Lyon itself certainly lives up to its billing at the Food Capital of France – where else do you see pretty much every restaurant fully-booked on a sleepy Monday evening. As a local told me, ‘some people go out in the evening to a concert or to see a movie, here in Lyon, we go out to a restaurant.’ The old centre is filled with traditional ‘bouchon’ restaurants, serving traditional Lyonnais cuisine, lots of nose-to-tail dishes, where the set menu is so lengthy that each evening there is only one ‘service’ as it takes a few hours to finish all the food. Unfortunately for tourists, many ‘Bouchons’ are not at all authentic, serving average food at over average prices, so it is best to check the list of 22 official ‘bouchons’. For a contrast in styles, I would recommend the Bouchon des Filles, where young chef Agathe is creatively reinterpreting old-fashioned recipes, and Bouchon le Jura, where the wonderful Brigitte has been meticulously preparing the same regional dishes for over 30 years.

Le Bouchon des Filles, chef Agathe

Le Bouchon des Filles, chef Agathe

Le Bouchon du Jura, chef Brigitte

Le Bouchon du Jura, chef Brigitte

There are some hip new ‘bistronomie’ spots too, with Le Palegrie definitely worth a look. In his open kitchen, Guillaume Monjure, conjures up light, exciting dishes like asparagus with haddock and safron, while the sommelier has some terrific natural wines, like the intense Cotes du Rhone,  Sierra du Sud by Domaine Gramenon.

Don’t restrict yourself to Lyon’s picturesque city centre, and take the Metro up to the gritty Sainte-Croix neighbourhood, once the centre of the famous silk industry, now the hippest part of town. The enormous morning food market is spectacular, much more fun that the formal Halles, and come back in the evening to discover O Vins d’Anges, a ‘Cave a Manger’ where food and wine buffs gather to feast off tapas and choose a bottle from the hundreds of different wines on display.

O Vins d'Anges

O Vins d’Anges

Later on, check out the retro Bistro Fait sa Broc, and end the night at the tiny but wild bar that has to have the best name in town – Cassoulet, Whiskey, Ping Pong – not the kind of place you’re likely to bump into Paul Bocuse.

Cassoulet, whiskey, ping pong

Cassoulet, whiskey, ping pong

Sancerre wine route: top 10 guide

Wine from the Sancerre region of France is beloved by many – especially sauvignon blanc – but local wineries also offer the chance to try pinot noir, rosé and organic wines. We pick the best winemakers, bistrots and B&Bs in the area

Photos and words by John Brunton for the Guardian

Sancerre

The town of Sancerre, a grand medieval hill town with a rich winemaking heritage.

Sancerre is a firm fixture in restaurants and wine bars around the world and a trip into its vineyards – only a couple of hours drive from Paris – offers the chance to explore one of the most welcoming regions in Francefor wine lovers. Sancerre itself is a grand medieval hill town, with dozens of cafes, bistrots and “caves” to taste wine in. Set off into the countryside, and every winery is open for visits: as a sizeable part of their production is sold directly at the Domaine, with loyal customers often coming back for decades. Best known for its crisp sauvignon blanc, Sancerre has increasingly high-quality pinot noir and rosé too, and there is an exciting new generation of little-known vignerons to discover, many working to make organic wines. It is also well worth going to the adjoining Menetou-Salon appelation – whose vineyards are coming out of the shadow of their noisy neighbour and producing some outstanding wines.

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Top 10 guide to the Alsace wine route

Alsace marks the end of the grape harvest with a host of festivals in October, making it the perfect time to visit the vineyards and villages along France’s famous wine route

Alsace, France

Alsace is famous for its wine route through picturesque villages and countryside. All photographs by johnbrunton.com

Wine tourism is a tradition that has long existed in Alsace, and many villages along the region’s famous wine route celebrate the end of the grape harvest with wine festivals throughout October – there are very good ones in Eguisheim and Turckheim this weekend.

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