Jean-Pierre, and his English class, made an imaginary trip to Uruguay.
We are in MONTEVIDEO and this first afternoon is devoted to the visit of a vineyard and its cellar.
The place is called “Bodega Santa Rosa”, it is located at 2211 Cesar Mayo Guttierez in Montevideo.
For the sum of €78.50, a minibus picks us up at our hotel, then we leave for a visit of the vineyard and its cellar. To close this half-day, we can taste the different wines produced by this property, then have our dinner in the room where the tasting takes place. At the end, we are taken back to the hotel.
The vineyard looks like the ones we see in the Bordeaux region and the grape varieties are the same.
We chose to visit the winery where the sparkling wine is made. Thousands of bottles rest on a sort of champagne rack, the cap down. These are stored in long tunnels cut into the rock. The walls are draped with a black mould that is necessary for the maturation of the wine. These corridors are provided with lateral cavities and illuminated by a central rail fixed to the ceiling.
A great impression of calm reigns here, the temperature is constant, and one can perceive a slight echo.
At the end of this first part of the visit, you must go to the tasting room.
It is a room quite imposing by its size. It is accessed by a monumental staircase covered with stone masonry. Besides, all the walls and pillars of the central aisle are of the same material. The ceiling, relatively high, is supported by beams of beautiful solid wood sections, resting on posts of the same ilk. The floor is covered with tiles whose pattern is different between corridors and rooms. Here, we find large cavities which expose enormous wooden barrels and other more modest ones, where bottles are stored, as well as bottles, laying on the side of the walls. At the foot of the stairs, on our right, a small wall marks a separation between the central aisle and the dining room.
An almost religious atmosphere reigns in these places due to the chosen materials and the lighting.
The vineyard can be found here