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am Brian MONSTER!,” bellowed our captain. “Please, don’t be afraid. I am a monster in name only!”
Our young and burly captain had made quite the
entrance – jogging into the ship’s lounge to thumping music and grabbing a mic en route – so I was half expecting him to break into song. Sadly, there was no performance, but it was the
first night of our river cruise and Captain Monster’s energetic arrival had got all of us excited for the week ahead. Champagne in hand, we toasted to our health and set sail along the Rhine for our seven-day wine tasting cruise. Joining us on board was Michael Keenan, our wine host. He runs the Keenan Winery in California’s Napa Valley. Several of the American guests were members of his wine club and had heard about the cruise, which took place prior to the pandemic, through him.
RISE OF RIESLING As we sailed towards Strasbourg, Keenan hosted our first wine tasting in the ship’s lounge. This introduced us to the wines of the Alsace region we were about to explore, which is best known for its “bright, high-acid cellar” whites, according to our daily cruise planner. A far cry from the sweet rieslings that were popular in
DESTINATIONS RHINE CRUISE | FOOD & DRINK
the 1980s (remember Blue Nun?), these wines were dry, sharp and citrusy. After docking in the winemaking town of
Rüdesheim, we made our way to nearby Mainz and its historic Bassenheimer Hof building, where steps led us into its dark wine cellars that date back to 1480. Our host, Adolf, gave us a humorous history of winemaking in the region as we sat in the dimly lit cellar sipping samples of speciality riesling wines. Rüdesheim is home to sprawling vineyards overlooking the Rhine. A hike through row after row of vines blew away the cobwebs from the previous night’s overindulgence and provided stunning views of the river and town below. A Roman bridge over the Nahe River marks the beginning of the Rhine Valley and is a notable reminder of the history of the region and its 1,000 years of winemaking. When the Romans settled here, they brought their winemaking knowledge with them, cultivating vines on the hillsides and building cellars to store the fruits of their labour. The fertile soil and proximity to the Rhine made for ideal wine production, which continues to this day and has helped make Rüdesheim one of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. However, wine is not the only drink that the town is known for. No walk along its winding lanes and²
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