Montevideo Wine Bliss: Vineyard Tasting & Gourmet Lunch

We had a a last minute change with our ship itinerary which had us miss the port of Punta del Este and arrive early into Montevideo. We had a city tour booked in Punta del Este but felt the transport time plus touring would be too long given our late arrival into the port. So we made a last minute change to this tour. I must say that I appreciated the flexibility of the tour company to make a last minute change. However we thought that we would be having a guided "wine tour" meaning to a few different wineries. This was not the case. We were met at the pier by a lady who spoke English and directed us a van with a driver. She quickly showed us on a map the region we would be visiting. Then said goodbye. We had no idea what was happening and next we knew we were driving off with a man who spoke no English. We had no idea where we were going and the driver could not communicate at all. After a 45 minute drive away from the city we were dropped off at a winery (Pizzorno) where the folks seemed surprised to see us. We were led to a private room and told we would now receive lunch. The people serving us were very nice and the food was terrific but with little understanding of what to expect we were a little unsettled. Turns out that since we had arrived so late they decided to give us lunch first rather than the tour that would normally be conducted beforehand. We had a brief walk through their vineyard and production area. Again all the staff were very nice and the wine was excellent. We purchased some wine, the driver came to pick us up and drove us back to the port. That was it. While the time spent at the winery was nice we really didn't feel that for the very quite high price that the value was there. We have participated in wine tours in many different countries and have never paid this much to visit only one winery. As a result it was a disappointing day.

Booked the reservation weeks ahead of schedule. Received a confirmation email from Fernando. All was well until that day. 1. Driver came to pick us up. We approached him and our name didn't register with his list. Ten minutes later, he approaches the hotel desk asking for my name. He spoke NO English. 2. 45 min- 1 hour ride with a non-English speaking drive who got lost 3. Arrived at Marichal Winery and they were not expecting us but were super in taking the 4 of us on a tour and even whipping up a delicious lunch. They get 5 stars! 4. Back into car for 1 hour drive with non-English speaking driver. If it weren't for the fantastic experience at the winery, I would give this tour 1 star. Per Fernando, the winery knew about our visit but given the situation of our driver, I'd suspect that was not the case. We felt like we were an "oops, I forgot to book this" group. Just verify your driver will speak English as it was a wasted 2 hours for us.

Were in town on a big cruise ship and wanted to get out on our own so booked this private wine tour. Santiago was waiting for us with a sign across the street from where we docked. Took us to our driver, drove about 45 minutes out into wine vineyards in nice air conditioned car. (Be advised, they are dirt roads at the end...it's fine, you'll be happy when you arrive). We were greeted and then got to see the most charming family winery we have ever been to. (Including Napa, Sonoma and Willamette Valley in Oregon). Spoke wonderful English, had a private area set up just for us and did the most delicious wine tasting and lunch!!! Start to finish, this was a wonderful tour. HIGHLY recommend it

Tannat is the wine of Uruguay - a grape brought over from the Basque region many years ago - but that's nor all there is. We tasted a great variety of wonderful wines (Uruguay is a hidden gem that we discovered in the NY Times Travel Section) after our tour of the vineyards, and structures and hearing the wonderful family history (his great grandfather and great grandmother - from Spain and Italy - bought a piece of land when they immigrated to Uruguay, and their descendants continued their legacy with updates and improvements). Along with the wine tasting there were homemade snacks (from grandma), which included vegan empanadas for my husband and myself (she had been on the Iron Chef with her regular empanadas) and many stories. We had about 3 whites and 3 reds. Since cannelloni is a regional favorite in the wine growing region of Uraguay, grandma made us vegan cannelloni (the other couple with us got the real stuff) which was delicious. Having a co- owner (his brother was educated in Napa and he got his degree from Virginia Tech) do the tour made it so special. The driver waited for us and took us back to the cruise terminal - a very scenic drive. Cannot rate this tour high enough - needs 7 stars!

<p>Passeio muito bonito, pontual e tranquilo. Ótimo atendimento na Bodega Marichal. Otimos vinhos. Excelente o atendimento do motorista que nos levou.</p>