BORDEAUX
››Q&A
Andreas Blaim, 33, is a wine sommelier
for Uniworld. He shares a
few of his wine secrets and top wine tips
How did you become a sommelier? I have always been interested in wines, and learned a lot fi rst hand during an early apprenticeship in Austria. Then, during my years working in fi rst-class hotels and bars, I became more and more involved in wine and winemaking, and I continued to increase my knowledge through courses, tastings, vineyard visits, taking part in harvests and regularly following the market.
We’re just in time for the huge Sunday market on the pier
Above Princesse D’Aquitaine
us to St Émilion, the best-known wine village on the ship’s itinerary. There is no shop or tavern without its own wine press, and behind small wooden doors in the narrow streets, top wines are sold by the bottle. The scenery is typical of a wine-growing landscape: narrow valleys and little hills with terraces between old stone walls. When the Princesse D’Aquitaine sails back to Bordeaux in the evening, the sun kisses the horizon, while the street bridges almost touch the navigation bridge. We’re just in time for the huge Sunday market on the pier selling fresh fi sh, honey, Asian food, local cakes, wine, cheese, books and paintings. We leave the riverside promenade and turn to Europe’s largest town square where the monument of a quadriga represents happiness. And this is exactly what we feel in the summer sun of this Sunday morning.
››Fact File
Cruises to and from Bordeaux for between 2-5 nights, with all meals included, wine at meals and shore excursions cost from £945 (for a four-night cruise). Some private days in Bordeaux may be added, as well as private excursions to La Rochelle, Cognac and Arcachon. • For bookings contact Voyages Jules Verne on 0845 166 7003 or visit
www.vjv.com
76
Only two streets away, the Bordeaux locals congregate in the public garden, bringing blankets, drinks and food. At lunch time, Bordeaux’s beautiful ancient shopping galleries offer French snacks like gratinated baguettes, fi sh selections or big cheese plates with grapes and crackers.
When we return, a French warship has docked just in front of the Princesse. A young offi cer in his Sunday uniform is very proud to welcome the cruise ship passengers from all over Europe. He says he has grown up in Bordeaux, and indeed knows more about the city than the guide books. Bordeaux airport fi nally greets us with a very local farewell – where other bus parks are lined by grass or fl owers, here a fi eld of vine grows.
| APRIL/MAY 2012
Does being on board limit your ability to source the wines for a cruise? At Uniworld we have the opportunity to select our wines prior to the season and locally in the regions that the ships are sailing through. Therefore our guests can enjoy real local wine treasures. It also means we can react quickly if a harvest is not to our liking or another is extraordinary good.
Can you recommend four wines that are particularly good this year? Grüner Veltliner from the Wagram area close to the Wachau Valley in Austria; Spätburgunder from Ellerstadt in the Pfalz area in Germany; Cabernet Franc from Csongardi area in Hungary; Merlot from Strumtal area in South Bulgaria.
What meals served on Uniworld cruises lend themselves well to wine pairings? That’s a diffi cult one as we have so many fantastic dishes matching the region but one I always like is skin fried fi llet of river peach pike, accompanied by caper-lemon vinaigrette, on a bed of root vegetables. We serve it with a Weissburgunder from the Kirchner vineyard. It has very fi ne stone fruit and cantaloupe aromas, with a fi ne and elegant structure
Tell us a wine secret Forget about the “old rules” white wine for white meat, red wine for red meat. Drink what you like and feel at the particular moment, and what is local. If you sail through a white wine region, why not try a glass of Riesling with a steak?
What is you favourite wine region? As an Austrian there is no other choice than to say “Wachau Valley in Austria”!
CRUISE-INTERNATIONAL.COM
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