Wine and Cruises - A Happy Blend
"Wine is bottled poetry"
Robert Louis Stevenson
Do you like to travel? Do you appreciate wine? Do you have family and friends that like to travel and appreciate wine, too? If so, I've got a cruise you might be interested in.
Wine-themed cruises appeal to many travelers today and represent a growing segment in travel. This month's cruise article provides general information about this type of cruise adventure. The below information was selected from an online article of the Miami Herald (For wine lovers, there's nothing like discovering new tastes of the grape).
For wine lovers, there's nothing like discovering new tastes of the grape. For cruise lovers, there's nothing like touring some of the most beautiful regions of the world. Combine the two and you have a wine cruise, a happy blend that is attracting more and more travelers.
"We love wine and we love Europe," said Joan Carter of Destin, Fla., explaining why she and her husband Stephen chose a wine cruise last year as their very first sea voyage. "We had a wine event almost every day, and a wine dinner with pairings," said Joan of their seven-night Windstar cruise in the Mediterranean. Their itinerary took them to ports in Spain, France and Italy, where they visited the famous Super-Tuscan wine region of Bolgheri. There, they lunched at and toured the Ornellaia winery, one of the few in the world that has received a perfect 100 score from Wine Spectator.
Their host vintner: Kosta Browne, a small California winery whose pinot noir was ranked in the Wine Spectator's top 10 wines of 2006. On board was the firm's marketing director, Dan Kosta, who arranged the Ornellaia visit.
That's a perk that comes from having a winemaker on board. Through the winemaker's contacts, group members can get access to wineries not usually visited, and to wines not usually served. Wineries who host wine cruises may be big operators like Robert Mondavi and Beringer, Martin said, but many more are less known but respected boutique vintners, such as Paul Hobbs in California and Paumanok and Wolffer Estate, upcoming wineries on Long Island.
Most "wine cruises" are actually regular sailings with a wine affinity group aboard that has paid extra for special grape-oriented events. These may include private tastings, educational talks, parties, winemaker lunches or dinners, and excursions to wineries and vineyards ashore. Often, such groups will get to taste the host winemaker's "library selections," especially good wines held back from regular sale.
Wine cruises are a growing trend. Typically, a wine group's price will include onboard wine events, with wine-related excursions ashore at an optional extra cost. A wine cruise may feature one or more winemakers, who bring their own wines aboard for tastings and other wine-group gatherings. Who sails on wine cruises? Clients are generally a little younger than other cruise passengers, 45 to 55 years old; probably 50 percent of them have never cruised before. Because those who have a passion for wine tend to be more affluent, most wine cruises take place aboard upscale vessels. The Mediterranean, where wine was first produced, is the most popular region for wine cruises.
But smaller river boats offer wine cruises on European waterways like the Danube and the canals of France, or on such American rivers as the Columbia and the Napa. One tall-masted sailing ship in Maine, the Stephen Taber, offers wine sailings. And a full program of wine events may be offered on cruises that never get near wine-producing regions, such as those in the Caribbean.
Though wine travel has traditionally been expensive, wine cruises need not be priced out of reach, particularly when the economic downturn has prompted cruise lines and packagers to make attractive offers. Cruises booked before March 31st generally receive savings benefits. A few cruise lines conduct wine cruises. Silversea, for instance, has scheduled 11 Wine Series voyages this year that include special tastings, events and lectures conducted by wine professionals.
But just as wine has become a normal part of many American meals, so have wine activities such as tastings and vineyard visits become routine on many cruise ships. Many now also have wine bars, and the new Celebrity Solstice has taken the trend one step further with an elegant wine tasting room. But beware, some cruise line "wine cruises" are mere adjuncts to epicurean themes or perhaps simply offer a shore excursion to a vineyard.
Want to book your own wine cruise for a group of family and friends? Contact Pat (pat@incrediblejourney.net) now to make your dream of a wine cruise adventure come true.
