I remember those college days when the only wines I knew about were Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill and Mogan David 20-20 – referred to as “Mad Dog” for a reason.
What a hangover!
Alan Whitt
Today, I drink a much higher class of wine for a different reason and savor the grape just a bit more.
While in the Tuscany hills of Italy a few years back I actually toured a 1,000-year-old winery and was honored with lessons from the owners on the art of wine tasting and fine dining. Each of our seven courses included a different wine designed to enhance and complement the food … so there were many happy guests by the end of the evening.
I’ll never be a wine expert but it’s always good to expand your mind with knowledge. I never drink on land, but when at sea I love a glass of wine in the elegant atmosphere of a cruise ship and conversing with the ship’s sommelier.
Fine wine … and fine ships. Makes perfect sense to me.
Now there’s a way to combine the two in a fashion you may never have thought of.
River cruising through Europe’s historic wine country.
If you’ve never considered a river cruise in Europe or Asia this may be the perfect time. This form of cruising has exploded, going from a niche market to a major vacation player. So many new luxury ships are debuting that it’s hard to keep up.
AmaWaterways has a series of “Celebration of Wine” theme cruises this fall sailing along the Rhine, Danube and Rhone Rivers, timed to coincide with harvest time in Europe.
Each cruise includes special guest hosts, onboard lectures, wine tasting and tours of vineyards and cellars.
River cruising by Americans have increased by 800 percent over the last decade. That growth has spurred a building boom that has resulted in 20 new river cruise vessels over the last three years.
River cruising allows you to visit quaint cities and villages inaccessible by big cruise ships. And many are genuinely all-inclusive … including shore excursions.
There are boatloads of river cruise companies, including AmaWaterways, Uniworld, Avalon, Viking and others.
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