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Our ship arrived over 2 hours later than planned due to harbor delays leaving Buenos Aires and at the harbor in Montevideo. So our planned excursion to Juanicò vineyards didn’t start until around 11:30AM. They adapted well, reversing the order of stops so first stop was the winery, and then afterwards we made the obligatory tourist stops in downtown Montevideo.

A quick walk around the vineyards, sampling grapes from two different fields, each a different variety, and taking pictures up on an observation deck looking over a vast vineyard

On to the tasting room for lunch and wine tastings – 4 different wines, served at different times of the meal, all with the Familia Delicas label. Juanicò was the original family that owned the vast track of vineyards. Within the original track, Familia Delicas Winery is one of the wine producers here.

• Sparkling Brut Rose – Pinot Noir blend. Deliciously light and a little sweet
• Chardonnay – mild oak flavor
• Preludio – Barrel Select 2018 – similar to Merlot/Cabernet, but very crisp with little after taste
• Licor de Tannat – Port Style – definitely a Port, very sweet

Lunch was served family style, with a big platter of meats, potatoes and soured cabbage. Beef, chicken, pork and sausage. Delicious!

Enjoyed the company at our table, though some took exception to my preference of Maker’s Mark as my bourbon of choice. The gentleman from Kentucky thought Makers was too ordinary, when there are so many other exceptional bourbons to pick from. Others had some of the high end bourbons such as Woodford, Blanton or even Pappi’s as their “everyday” choice. When I explained I had other bourbons, but was introduced to Maker’s by my Father-in-law, and that I actually drink the Makers’s 46 variety, they were more accepting. I joked that it was okay for them to be snobby about their Kentucky bourbon, since being from Maryland, I would never think to eat anything but Maryland crabs! Others at the table were from Brisbane, Australia, Ohio, Florida and Newfoundland, Canada. Most everyone seems to have already had experience with long cruise voyages, except us newbies.

After eating, some of us went to the tasting counter to try the Tannat wine that was the “national” wine of Uruguay. The $20 bottle tasted rough, like you’d expect from a cheap wine. The $110 bottle was good, but we liked the Presidio wine we had in our tasting better. Purchase 2 bottles of that, the limit for bringing back into the ship.

Some interesting views down in the cellar with wine barrels, and a large Amethyst slab on display that had been dug up somewhere nearby. Took a walk around outside to see the tasting building exterior and beautiful mature Eucalyptus trees.

On the way back to the ship we stopped at the Uruguay Congress building and the Independence Square. Beautiful buildings, with more of an Italian style architecture than Spanish. Apparently there were many Italian architects that immigrated to Uruguay in the 20th century. Per the tour guide, 90% of the population is White, mostly from Mediterranean Europe, with no native South Americans to speak of, since the natives were all but killed off by the Spanish upon arrival by the early missionaries.

Next on to the Falkland Islands, not arriving until Sunday, March 10. So two days at sea coming up. Interesting note, when the cruise director showed our cruise map on a big screen when in Buenos Aires, it showed us going to Islas Malvinas, the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands. My guess was to not offend any Argentinians, as that is still a very touchy topic.

The day ended with a surprisingly delicious dinner and dessert drinks up on the top deck to watch the ship leave the dock and out of the harbor. Another great day.