Uruguay - What You Should Know About The Country, Wines & Restaurants

The national flag of Uruguay.

The flag originally had more blue bands, but the number was reduced to make it easier to see at sea.

The sun's rays have alternating wavy and straight lines.

Where is the country?

South American

Yes, Uruguay is in South America, most people know, but what else should you know? Firstly, since it is south of the equator, the seasons are the reverse of countries to the north. Uruguay's summer, or warm weather in our northern winter (UK, USA, Europe), whilst Uruguay's cool weather is in our summer.

Map of Uruguay

East

The Country's full name is Republic of Oriental Uruguay, including the word oriental, which I associate with what I still think of as the Far East. But oriental just means east. Uruguay is on the south east coast of South American. The waters are the Atlantic Ocean.

Coast

 Coast? Yes, Uruguay is on the coast. 

To the north is Brazil. Like Brazil, Uruguay has beautiful beaches. 

Landmark photo spot, sculpture on the beach, La Mano de Punta del Este.

Sculpture - La Mano de Punta del Este

The Hand of the Tip Of The East. Popular photo spot. It is a warning that the local waves are more suitable for surfing, so swimmers should go to another beach.

The Chilean sculptor who had come to Uruguay to participate in a sculpture contest, later made another similar sculpture in the desert in Chile.

Carnival

Like Brazil, Uruguay has a carnival. In fact Uruguay has a long carnival. Not just three days like the Bank Holiday Notting Hill Carnival in London.

Food In and From Uruguay

A local everyday food, the national dish, is Chivito, a calorie laden upmarket version of burger with a difference, filet mignon steak slice with added egg, cheese, bacon, ham and olives or salad, though you can order a version without the bun just on the plate. 

Wine and Wineries

Lots of wineries. You can buy Uruguay wines from Marks & Spencer, and Hedonism shop in central London.

In Uruguay, a good place to match the local food and wine would be in a winery Restaurant, such as at Bodega Garzon.

Expats, spouses, descendants, importers, tourists or wellwishers, from Uruguay in the UK can buy from Amazon a tee-shirt which says in Spanish I am (soy) Uruguan, Raised on Chivito, or I'd rather be in Uruguay,  with a Spanish flag in the shape of the country.

Side Trips For Food

The country has more cattle than people. Up north towards Brazil is cowboy country with ranches.

The Fray Bentos former meat canning site closed down but is now a UNESCO site and museum.

Wiki informs me

The "Fray Bentos" brand is now owned in the UK by Baxters, which manufactures the product range in Scotland. The Campbell Soup Company manufactures and sells Fray Bentos-branded steak and kidney pies in Australia.

I can buy Fray Bentos pies in the UK from Morrisons supermarket, Waitrose, and from Amazon, which all show the tin. Baxters website shows the pie once cooked.

Population

The population is small. 3.5 to 4.5 million. Less than London and many main cities. 

Capital - Montevideo

More than half the population, about two million people, live in the largest city and capital, Montevideo.

Language

The language is Spanish.

The restaurant menu for the Bodega Garzon winery was in Spanish with the Portuguese translation under each item listed. Bodega Garzon is the second of the top two largest wine producers in Portugal, according to my husband. 

He is presenting Uruguayan wines to the Central London Wine Society. Enquiries and booking through Meetup.

Religion in Uruguay

About half the population are Roman Catholic, or Christian. However, the country is secular. Uruguay was one of the first countries to recognize the state of Israel.

Differences from Paraguay

Uruguay has a seaside but Paraguay is land locked. Uruguay had an influx of foreigners and European influence but Paraguay preserved an indigenous population and the language Guarani.

In the UK on September 2nd 2026 I was offered £5 off my first order if I signed up to Hedonism.

The Irurtia family offered me a free glass of wine for signing up, but I would have to go to Uruguy. Once there I could drive west to see them. It takes about six hours to drive across the country non stop south to north or east to west. About the size of England and Wales, my husband says like driving to Edinburgh from London in a day, feasible in theory, but you would want to stop overnight half way, and preferably extend to two to four days to make a couple of special stops, one each morning, one each afternoon, with either a leisurely lunch or an evening dinner, or 6 days to do it properly and leisurely. Day trips by ferry, an hour each way, come from Rio in neighbouring Brazil.

Useful Websites About Uruguay

tripadvisor

wikipedia

wikivoyage travel uruguay

wikivoyage phrasebook Spanish

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mano_de_Punta_del_Este

Uruguayan Wines Sold In the UK

https://www.finewinesdirectuk.com/all-wines/country/new-world/uruguay/

https://hedonism.co.uk/collections/country-uruguay

Restaurant Menu & Wines At Bodega Garzon in Uruguay

https://bodegagarzon.com/

Restaurant of the Deicas Family

https://familiadeicas.com/restaurante/

Irurtia Family

https://enoturismocarmelo.com.uy/en/wineries/familia-irurtia

UK Uruguyan Food

https://www.baxters.com/products/fray-bentos

https://www.latinroutes.co.uk/lp/uruguay

-ends-

I also have posts on learning and translating Spanish and menu translations. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Grape names - memorable meanings

 Meaningful grapes

Some time ago I started to write a blog post about the strange tendency of white grape varieties to start (like ‘vine’, ‘vino’ and ‘variety’) with the letter v. There are Viognier, Vermentino, Viura, Verdicchio, Vidal, Verdejo, Verdelho and others. That post never saw the light of day, but it came to mind when a friend reminded me that Merlot is named after merle, French for 'blackbird'. (They like to eat it.) Indeed, in Occitan, the local language of Merlot’s birthplace, the bird is called merlau.

Many other grape varieties have meaningful names. Some are a bit obscure, such as the Catalan name for Tempranillo: Ull de Llebre, rabbit's eye or hare’s eye. Perhaps it's the shape of the berries, or the bunches. Many others are quite obvious, such as those involving nero (Latin) or mavro (Greek), both meaning black. There are Nero d’Avola from Sicily, Mavro on Cyprus, Mavrud in Bulgaria and Mavrodafni etc from Greece.

But there are many more surprising ones.

French Grape Names

France first. Colombard (largely used for cognac) is from colombe, dove, referring to the skin colour.

Folle Blanche (cognac, armagnac) is 'mad white' because it grows so fast, hence also known as Grand Plant & Enrageat 'enraged'.

Syrah's synonym is Sérine (the name of the family it heads), which is from the Latin sera 'late' (it's late ripening) as in buonasera.

Italian Grapes

Lambrusco = lam brusco where lam is berry (e.g. lampone 'raspberry') plus 'brusque' so 'wild grape'. The minor French grape Fer also means wild, as in ‘feral’.

There are many lambrusco somethings and one, lambrusco salamino is named after guess what, salami, having cylindrical bunches.

Spain

Next, Spain. Monastrell (Mourvèdre in France) is from the Latin monasteriu 'monastery'. Tempranillo is 'early ripening'.

Italy

Then Italy has many. Dolcetto is ‘little sweet’. Nebbiolo (Barolo) is from nebbia 'fog' as the berries grow a thick bloom. Think nebulous.

Pecorino is from pecora 'sheep' like the cheese though I’m not sure whether the connection is proximity, the sheep’s favourite snack or otherwise. Primitivo (aka Tribidrag, Zinfandel) is from the Latin primativus, 'first to ripen'.

Vermentino was originally Fermentino: the young wine is fizzy.

Place Names

Then there are place names. Lots of wines are named after their origin, such as Champagne, Chablis, Sancerre and Madeira. But very few actual grapes are; the only well-known certainty is Chardonnay. 

Prosecco (now renamed Glera to distinguish it from the wine it makes) probably originated there. 

Trebbiano may be from Trebula (now Treglia), from the Trebbia river. Or from any one of the many Italian villages named Trebbo or Trebbio.

Misleading Names

Most place names are misleading though. Auxerrois is not from Auxerre in the Yonne, but refers to the old name for Alsace, Auxois. Montepulciano is not from there but, as the label says, it’s Montepulciano d’Abbruzo. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is from there but is largely made from Sangiovese, like Chianti. Shiraz has nothing to do with the Persian city; it’s the Australian name for Syrah.

There’s more. Muscat is not from Oman, rather its aroma is suggestive of that from the caudal gland of the musk deer, as in musk(y). There are many Muscat Somethings, and Muscat of Alexandria is not from there while Muscat of Hamburg is not from there!

Roman, Rimini, Rumour and Religion

But the best names are the stuff of legend and religion, and here the Romans and Italians excel. Sangiovese means ‘Jupiter’s blood’, from sanguis Jovis. Rumour has it that the monks at Monte Giove near Rimini made the name up (based on their location) when a visitor asked the name of their wine. 

Sagrantino was sacred wine for the sacristy. Vin Santo is the wine of saints. So not only does the church have the best songs, it has the best wine. It once only lacked women, and that has now been corrected too.

Salut!

Names of Grapes To Eat and Drink

Here's a handy alphabetical list of wine grapes and their meanings. See my blog post on grape names

Grape Name Meanings - An Alphabetical Checklist

Champagne - from the Champagne region of France, north, river Loire region, near Paris

Auxerrois - from Alsace (the old name for Alsace)

Colombard - white from colombe, french for dove (white birds)

Fer - French for wild (grape) like feral

Glera - the new name for Prosecco grapes to distinguish them from the style of wine more widespread

Madeira - strong alcohol, Portuguese island in the Atlantic, whose wine was transformed in long hot journeys stored for ages by ship in the olden days, storage conditions to enhance flavour and other qualities, now imitated on the island without the sea journey

Mavro - Greek for black (used in Cyprus)

Merlot - from French for blackbird. Grapes used in France for wine and eating

Monastrell - Spanish wine which came from the monastery (Latin monasteriu for monastery)

Mourvèdre - from the Latin monasteriu meaning monastery

Muscat - musky smelling, sweet, often a dessert wine on the menu 

Nero - Latin for black

Nero d'Avola from Sicily - black Grape, from the Italian island

Prosecco - a town, now the style of wine which originated there but comes from other places too

Sagrantino sacred wine

Sangiovese - Jupiter's blood

Shiraz - Australian name for Syrah

Tempranillo - early ripening (think of time and temps fugit meaning time flies, early grape saves time)

Trebbiano - from Italian villages of similar names or the river

Vin Santo - wine of saints

Please share links to your favourite posts.

 

Who can be a wedding witness? Who can officiate? How Does A Wedding Certificate Affect Travel?

Whether you are marrying locally or travelling to another country, you will want a wedding document to be signed by witnesses?

The answer is not as straightforward as you think. I advise you to check.

Jewish
I was at a UK wedding, a Jewish wedding, where the witness was a member of the family, the best man and cousin of the groom. This caused a delay at the signing, which meant everybody was hanging around waiting to drive off to the reception and meal.

Muslim and Arab
In some places you may be considered betrothed or married without a written document. (Arab countries? Equally you could be divorced without a written document.)

At one time you could not book a hotel room together in some countries unless you were legally married. So a common law husband and wife would not be granted the right to a hotel room on holiday. The employer would not give an allowance for married accommodation.

Translation
It would seem sensible to require a translation of the document. How do you know what you are signing, an agreement to marry, change your religion, a mortgage, a will leaving all your goods to your spouse and their children by other persons after you die?

Civil Requirements
In some countries you can have a religious ceremony and certificate without a civil certificate. In others you are required to have the civil certificate before, or after, the religious ceremony. You may wish to have both, either to please parents, or to ensure that your marriage is recognised by both religious and civil authorities in the case of divorce or any other legal question such as inheritance.

You might also find a document useful, for example, to get immigration to another country, to prove the lineage of your children who are claiming citizenship. If you wanted to go to Israel, or to Spain under the right of return, you might find a marriage document of parents useful later for the children.

Travel and Marriage Certificates
You might also find documents of marriage helpful for obtaining a second passport, or waiver for visa when taking a holiday.

In the UK in 2019 different rules apply to different religions. In the USA different rules apply in different States.

If you are travelling, you may need documents providing evidence of your identity such as passport, birth certificate, divorce certificate, evidence of home address.

In some places a relative cannot be a witness as they are considered an interested party. In some places the officiant can be a witness. In others he or she signs and requires two others to be witnesses. In some places you can just invite two passers-by to witness.

The moral of the story is to find out in advance. This is handy with the modern habit of having two ceremonies, one religious and one civil. I have see two weddings in the home countries of bride and groom, even three ceremonies, in her home country, his, and the country where they met and have friends and colleagues.

In Singapore I performed a mock wedding ceremony, which I called a rehearsal, when the officiant was late at a wedding reception. The bride wanted photos taken in daylight in the garden. The groom said there was no point having a dinner to celebrate a marriage when no marriage had taken place.
Fortunately the bride got her photos in the sun with the groom, best man, maid of honour and the surrounding guests. The officiant turned up just as it turned dark and the meal was being served and he made the marriage official.

Next day I checked whether I could be an officiant in Singapore. It would have taken a year's study, investment of time and money, knowledge of assorted religions and laws, and I had other commitments.

A marriage document can also affect your right to a pension, to stay in a house after a spouse dies, to inherit from the spouse, to be buried beside them, to have them buried beside you rather than a previous spouse they have not divorced.

Laws may change and become more liberal, or more strict. Forewarned is forewarned. Your marriage certificate showing your wedding or anniversary might get you upgrades on an airline, a free drink or Champagne on the airline, or at your hotel. Happy travelling.

https://www.rabbilevh.com/single-post/2015/01/11/Who-Can-Sign-Your-Ketubah

Humanist Pastors For Hospitals in The Netherlands - now in the UK

Flag of the Netherlands.

Problem
Where do you find somebody to visit you or your relative in hospital if you are not religious, or a different religion from the regular visitors?

Answer
The latest is a humanist pastor and poastor team organizer for hospitals in Buckinghamshie, England. Wonderful. 

She is from the Netherlands and says this has been the case in The Netherland for more than fifty years. What a pity it's taken so long to catch on in the UK, home of humanism. I had no idea that you could get pastoral hospital visitors in The Netherlands. 

In London, in the UK, I tried to get somebody to visit my late uncle in hospital, no such luck. The hospital gave me a couple of numbers. I thought religious groups had people who would sit with the dying so they were not alone. I thought, surely they will visit somebody, either in the hope of converting them on their deathbed, or being left something in the will, or in the hope that a surviving relative such as myself, would later give them a donation as a thank you. 

However, they claimed they were too busy, as he was not a paid up member of a church or orthodox synagogue. 


Also sending in somebody wearing religious garb makes the patient think: 'Is this the last rites? Have I got only ten minutes left?'
Now, there's an answer.

My late father didn't want visitors wearing religious outfits. He thought nurses of other religions might be less helpful if he looked affiliated to a religion different from the staff.

Useful Websites
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-45221945/the-first-humanist-lead-chaplain-in-the-nhs#
https://humanism.org.uk/humanism/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain#Health_care

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/lindsayvandijk 
The humanist pastor on LinkedIn

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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Drunken Escapades - don't do it - here's why

Problem
On holiday people get drunk. Celebrating, people get drunk. Then, alone or in a group, they do things which seemed like a good idea at the time, not so good a day or two later.

Drunk or sober, before taking any actions, ask yourself:
1 HOW DO RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE & HEROES ACT?
Would this action be done by any responsible person such as, (choose your favourites) my parents, my school teachers, the head of my school, my country or state, the HM The Queen?
Don't be an anti-hero if you can be a hero.

2 DO AS YOU WOULD BE DONE BY
Would I be happy if somebody else did this to me?

3 NEWSPAPER REPORTS
It used to be said, 'a lady should get her name in the newspapers only when she is born, when she marries and when she dies'. How will I feel if this is reported in the papers or on the internet and known to the next person giving out honours or jobs?

4 NO HONOUR AMONGST THIEVES?
If somebody else did this and I allowed them to do it, do I risk them claiming that I did it, in order to save themselves from loss of status, being put in prison or worse?

5 PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
Can I safely suggest to somebody else that they might refrain from this action, to protect them from regrets and punishment and to protect an innocent third party?

6 YOU ARE A REPRESENTATIVE
Do I owe it to my family, friends, colleagues, sponsors, bystanders, members of the same sex, race, religion, nationality, to protect our reputation?

7 CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES
Actions have consequences. For you, your family, your colleagues, nearby acquaintances, people at a distance. Like stepping on a butterfly in the short story, everything has consequences. Consider the consequences.

8 HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS
Instead of' it seemed like a good idea at the time', you might find that 'on second thoughts, it did not seem such a good idea'. You would then save yourself and lots of other people lots of trouble.

9 FAMILY FIRST, LAWYERS LAST
Your family come first, not the people looking for work or a story or entertainment. You can entertain with your successes and skills. Believe me, if you refrain from a bad action, the lawyers won't go hungry. And journalists will be able to find something else to write about.

10 WRITE YOUR OWN EULOGY
Set a good example to others. Everything you do, even running across the road when the light is red, can inspire children and adults to copy you, at the time, immedately afterwards, or later. What do you want on your obituary? Not errors of judgement! Only good things!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5434151/Canadian-athlete-coach-fined-taking-car-Olympics.html#comments

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Moon Cakes and Folk Tales

Moon Cake Festival Memories
What is the origin of the moon cake festival? At the Toa Payah Community Club's Toastmasters Club, all the members and visitors were asked to stand up and say their name and tell their memories of celebrating the mooncake festival as a child and what they do now.

Lanterns
To illustrate the theme and evoke memories, small coloured paper lanterns, not just orange but also pink and purple and green and blue, hung from the side lights. Two larger lanterns were either side of the lectern, once lit from within by an electric bulb which flashed on and off, distracting me from what the audience members were telling me about the festival.

Family Bonding
Several spoke nostalgically about how they loved carefully carrying the candle-lit paper lanterns, trotting after, alongside or ahead of their parents and family and friends. Others, especially the young marrieds said they now did the same to entertain and bond with their own young children.

Outdated Tradition
Some of the singles shrugged and said they did not bother to celebrate the festival any more, too busy with work. Others tutted, shook their heads, and regretted that the tradition was dying out. One even speculated that in ten or twenty years time the celebration might have become forgotten and ignored. So this event might one day be one of my and our fond memories of the good old days.

Folk Tale
I was delighted to hear the story of the Moon Goddess described as a folk tale. I had been searching for a polite word to describe other people's traditions. To me the story of creation in the book of Genesis in the bible is not scientific. Many cultural and revered stories attached to religion or culture and religious or classic books are passed from generation to generation, with the associated symbols, and praised for their vivid and memorable depiction of rival characters, the failure of the baddies and triumph of the goodies, the explanation of the creation of the world, the seasons, good and evil, family conflicts, aid from above, the mysterious movements of the sun and the moon.

Legend
To call the tales from your own culture and religion, or somebody else's, a legend, seems to denigrate them from fact to fiction. The word legend to me implies disbelief and dismissal.

But the word folk tale seems to me just right. A folk tale is clearly fiction. Yet it has a warmth, suggesting stories told around the campfire or the fireplace, to sleepy children, tired workers, families resting ready to sleep peacefully.

Tale
The word tale evokes an image of an extended story with perhaps an element of repetition and suspense. Tales are entertaining. A tale or tales will enthral you.

Folk
The word folk implies a common tradition, not a secret and never repeated on pain of death naming of Gods and VIPs of the royals and religious and cultural elite, but a shared story, inherited by the entire group, for the world, for everyman, a classic which gives us a glimpse of our grandparents and parents and their parents and grandparents and our shared past.

When the session began with the question to the entire audience, "What story do you associate with the moon?" people shouted, "The man in the moon," as well as, "The Moon Goddess".

Winner of the best speaker ribbon was the toastmaster who took the trouble to dress up at the moon goddess.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker