Rays from the setting sun spill through the cracked windowpane of an open garage. The tiny dust particles catch in the soft light, swirling ethereally around cars used in the time of our great grandfathers. Phonographs, paraffin lanterns, antique water pitchers, wooden wheel barrels, time appears to have stopped long ago. However, its 2008 and one of Uruguay’s oldest estancias near the town of Carmelo is in its sixth year running as a refurbished luxury bed and breakfast.

The estate dates back to 1732 when an esteemed Spanish architect built the nearby Narbona chapel. In the early 1900s Italian immigrants moved in, bringing with them vines transported from the best terroirs in Europe and the tradition of making delicious cheeses. In 2002, owner and developer Pacha Canton had the vision to refurbish and bring back to life the historic estancia. He found some of the best interior designers, staff, and cheese and wine makers, to emulate the life and flavours of the early 1900s.

Photo by: Sanra Ritten

The rooms adornment of crystal chandeliers, plush white cushions, and simple elegance borrowed from another time is important but it’s the spectacular food that sets the place apart from just another up-scale boutique hotel. Behind the scenes of the relaxing, elegant bed and breakfast, there are people artfully making fresh pastas, artesian cheeses and Tannat. The gastronomy of Narbona is what makes the place so interesting, the history and work behind each delicious morsel and drop of wine.

The view from the two guest rooms overlooks Narbona’s greatest asset: the vineyards. Nine hectares of the emblematic Uruguayan grape, Tannat, stretch out over the rolling hills into the horizon. While Narbona does produce a Viognier and Pinto Noir, its Tannat is arguably the best.

Photo by: Sanra Ritten

Carmelo is one of Uruguay’s biggest wine producing regions and its wines have special characteristics due to it’s unique geographic location. It is located just two kilometres from Punta Gorda, where the Río de Uruguay ends and the Río de la Plata begins. The temperature of the Río de la Plata at this latitude is significantly warmer than anywhere else due to the proximity of the Río Paraná estuary, which brings warm water from the centre of South America.

While Tannat grapes are picked in the middle of March in other parts of Uruguay, they are not picked until the end of the month in Carmelo due to the warmer river temperatures. These extra 15 days allow the fruits to further mature, thus producing wines of higher quality.

Other factors of course play a part in distinguishing the Tannat from Narbona to those of others, from the calcite rich soils to the deeply rooted tradition of hand picking the grapes.

Photo by: Sanra Ritten

Uruguay, the small country that it is, is actually the world’s largest producer of the grape. Originally from the south-western part of France, it grows well in South American soil. Even though it best pairs with Uruguay’s favourite food, beef, Narbona’s infamous parmesan cheese can hold its own against the rather tannic, deeply coloured red wine.

Jorge Jaen, the master cheesemaker, has been working at Narbona since its conception and before then he made cheese with his Uncle for 20 years. Each day, about 3,000 litres of milk are taken from the 100 cows on the property and made into fine quality mozzarella, colonia and parmesan cheese.

Photo by: Sanra Ritten

The parmesan cheese from Narbona is special and has a unique flavour because unlike most, it is guarded in the cooling rooms for four years. Technically parmesan cheese can be stored for just 10-12 months and even most other high quality parmesan cheeses in Argentina are only stored for two years. The extra time sitting on a shelf in a temperature-controlled room intensifies the hard Italian cheese’s pungent flavour and flaky texture.

For those interested Jaen, or his apprentice, will give tours of the tambo. One can see the hoses that pump the milk fresh from the cows, the sterilised rooms where the fermentations are added to make the different cheeses and the salt baths where the cheeses bob around for days on end. The tour ends with a tasting in the storage rooms where the smell from the rounds and rounds of maturing queso is so intense it’s almost intoxicating.

Photo by: Sanra Ritten

Back in the restaurant’s kitchen, the chefs pair the cheeses with their culinary soulmate: fresh pastas. Egg fettuccines, ham and ricotta stuffed sorrentinos or spinach and cheese canelones, nothing is more delicious than hearty servings of homemade pasta with freshly grated parmesan cheese fit for an Italian king.

The menu at the restaurant is simple – pasta dishes, platters of meats and cheeses or salads straight from the organic garden – yet decadent: very much in tune with the rest of Narbona. It is a place to relax and enjoy the simple things in life of the very highest quality.

Photo by: Sanra Ritten

Narbona could have been the country house of an aristocratic family of South America in the early 20th century. So be warned, don’t go there with a peasants (ie backpackers) change purse. For more information or to make reservations check out www.fincanarbona.com .

Yes, the 69-year-old behemoth – infamous for belting seven shades out of a discontented farmer who pelted him with eggs – is a bulimic who dealt with pressure by gorging on Big Macs and junk food.
Health experts praised the morbidly obese ex-trade union chief for finally admitting his struggle with the condition – which he denies is a cheap publicity stunt as he releases his new book.

In a frank admission, he said doctors blamed the stress of his ‘political career’ for exacerbating his troubled relationship with food.

"I’m sure it was to do with stress. I wasn’t doing it all the time, and there would be gaps of weeks and months, but during those years when we first got into power, I let things get on top of me and took refuge in stuffing my face," he said.

"It became my main pleasure, having access to my comfort food. So what I did was stuff my face with anything around, any old rubbish: burgers, chocolate, crisps, fish and chips, loads of it, till I felt sick – but at least I’d had the pleasure of feeling really full. Then there would be a weird kind of pleasure in vomiting and feeling relieved."

Other more sensible people might have taken to drink, said Mr Prescott. But he would "scoff" a whole packet of digestives. "I could sup a whole tin of Carnation Condensed Milk just for the taste… Marks and Spencer’s trifles… I can eat them forever. Whenever I go to Mr Chu’s in Hull, my favourite Chinese restaurant… I could eat my way through the entire menu."

He admitted he had occasionally binged on official buffets, but had made himself sick afterwards. "I’d go to the toilet after guzzling, put a finger down my throat and make it all come up," he said. The revelation, in a Sunday newspaper that is serialising his memoirs, came as a surprise to former cabinet colleagues but was known to a small circle of his friends.

"I’ve never confessed it before. Out of shame, I suppose, or embarrassment, or because it’s such a strange thing for someone like me to confess to," he said. "People normally associate it with young women – anorexic girls, models trying to keep their weight down, or women in stressful situations like Princess Diana."

Mr Prescott, who resigned last June and is retiring as an MP at the next election, said people would not have suspected he was bulimic because he put on weight nonetheless.

"But of course that wasn’t the main reason it started," he added. "It was at its worst during the years when we first came to power and I was running a very big department but had already begun some years earlier. I was working too hard, putting in long days… [up to] 18 hours of solid work."
Eventually his wife, Pauline, persuaded him to seek help from a doctor, who put him in touch with a specialist.

Eating disorder experts praised Mr Prescott’s bravery. A consultant psychiatrist, Dr Ty Glover, said Mr Prescott’s confession would help other men with eating disorders. "It’s hard enough for a young girl to confess to, but for a high-profile male politician approaching 70, it’s especially impressive," he said.
What is a damn sight more impressive is just how could someone put on weight while throwing up their dinner? Ineptitude of a staggering scale.