CRUISE FOCUS
around the ship’s menu pairing wines to suit each dish.
Oceania Cruises leads the way in the
growing popularity of on board wine tastings with a new tasting centre on the forthcoming new Marina (January 2011), where passengers can learn about and sample wines selected by experts at Wine Spectator magazine. La Reserve on Marina’s deck 12 will of- fer seminars and tastings of wines from the region in which the ship is sailing. Seven- course gourmet tasting menus with fine wines will be offered at no extra cost for food and service, though wines are extra. The wine centre seats 24 and has an al fresco patio. The wine lists in the main dining room will also give daily red and white wine recommendations to pair with the menu. Many other lines run special wine- themed cruises led by experts. Princess Cruises choose the Mediterranean for their wine-tasting cruises with vineyard excur- sions and tastings. Even small expedition ships take wine as a theme. AdventureSmith Explorations have a cuisine-and-wine Rivers of the West cruise exploring Washington and Oregon; a wilderness yacht exploration with private wine tours and tastings mixed with kayaking, history and culture. Cruising is becoming so associated with wine experiences that Arblaster and Clarke, a leading wine travel company, are launching two new cruise itineraries for 2011. They have chartered MV Eclipse, a
40 WORLD OF CRUISING I Winter 2010 / 2011
“With the GROWING INTEREST in wine, it is only natural more SHORE EXCURSIONS are to VINEYARDS”
small expedition vessel, for a late January cruise of the Galapagos, seeing the unique eco-islands while learning about the wines of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay on board. In the Mediterranean at the beginning of September, they will charter Le Ponant out of Nice to explore the classic wine regions of the south of France, Corsica, Tuscany and Piemonte, mixing onboard tastings with shore vineyard visits.
wineries. P&O will be taking guests to see where Olly Smith created the ship’s house wines in Sicily. Another of their most popular excursions is in Vigo to a wine- tasting at the Agro de Bazan winery and more samples in a local parador. Silversea even has its Silver Shore Concierge on- board service which can organise tailored excursions to wineries River cruising makes an obvious easy tie-up with regional vineyards and Uni- world have a new Epicurean Adventure
W
ith the growing interest in wine, it is natural more shore excursions are to vineyards and
programme, which includes private wine tastings and wine and food pairing din- ners at no additional cost. Areas covered included the Rhine and Danube rivers and Burgundy and Provence in France. Saga River Cruises has a series of cruises to the wine towns of the Moselle that include a variety of wine tastings, and Euro- pean Waterways has six-night ‘wine appre- ciation’ cruises in southern Burgundy on its 12-passenger hotel barge L’Impressionniste. Wine would seem to be a way cruise lines can also sell add-on packages. Fred Olsen has introduced a £25 package on some of its Braemar sailings of two lecture and tasting sessions hoisted by a resident expert. Seabourn have a series of pre-pur- chase packages that enable guests to enjoy a wider range of wine on board. On Holland America, the Sommelier
package includes two sommelier-guided wine tastings, a grill dinner, five bottles of vintage wine, a Holland America Line commemorative bottle and wine gift from $251 per person or $308 per couple. In addition, passengers can opt for the $75 Sommelier Dinner available once on each sailing when, after a champagne reception, a culinary team of six – including the cellar master – introduce wine and food combinations giving information on the back- ground and basis of each blend sampled. It all goes to underline the emphasis – and sophistication – of today’s wine offerings at sea. Well worth raising a glass to!
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