After All the Discussion about HAL's New Wine Policy.....

[sail7seas]

Some of us optimists think HAL may loosen their new restrictions a bit and I don't think it unreasonable they could agree to permitting two bottles per person.

 

If HAL were to allow you to bring four bottles of wine aboard when you embark, which four bottles would you bring?

 

I've read so many impassioned posts from wine lovers that they want to be able to enjoy their wines of choice and I totally understand that as DH and I fully enjoy wine every evening on the ships with wine.

 

Which are the four wines you would bring?

[taxmantoo]

1 bottle of Vintage Port (in-room consumption)

3 bottles of Pinot Noir from France

[kazu]

It really depends upon what port we are embarking from Sail. If we are in Barcelona (like in September) then I would bring on some beautiful Riojas most likely (and perchance a Cava) However, we always review especially at La Boqueria as they have some really, really unique Spanish wines.

 

In Europe when there are good wines in that country, we aim for their nice selections.

 

If in FLL, we go to Total Wine and really struggle with the choices:D We usually end up bringing Australian & New Zealand unless we see a couple of our special French or spanish wines that we love.

[startwin]

The wines I like you probably haven't heard of, so no point in telling you. My favourites are brewed here in BC, and I've never found them in wine stores in the States. But in ports I do like to buy a local white wine if possible.

[George C]

We like Cabernet so I would take

Stags Leap

Silver Oaks

Silverado

Berrigers Knights Valley

[sail7seas]

It really depends upon what port we are embarking from Sail. If we are in Barcelona (like in September) then I would bring on some beautiful Riojas most likely (and perchance a Cava) However, we always review especially at La Boqueria as they have some really, really unique Spanish wines.

 

In Europe when there are good wines in that country, we aim for their nice selections.

 

If in FLL, we go to Total Wine and really struggle with the choices:D We usually end up bringing Australian & New Zealand unless we see a couple of our special French or spanish wines that we love.

 

 

That is what I am seeking for info.

Thanks for sharing about your Spanish choices. We, too, are very fond of Riojas.

When in Spain, we sometimes had a house Rioja in a carafe and loved it.

 

Also seeking those wines you bring on when you are sailing from FLL and go to Total Wine. :)

The feelings about bringing wine are so genuinely passionate, I was hoping we all could learn something about wines we may never have tried or compare those we have mutual taste for.

 

 

The wines I like you probably haven't heard of, so no point in telling you. My favourites are brewed here in BC, and I've never found them in wine stores in the States. But in ports I do like to buy a local white wine if possible.

 

 

I may not be able to find your favorite wines in Boston but that is not a definite. We have some lovely wine shops with huge variety. I am sure there are others from Canada/ BC who would be interested to read your choices.

 

That is what I was hoping to explore by starting this thread.

For those who have strong preferences in their wine, I thought it would be fun to share and discuss which are on your list.

 

Thanks. :)

 

[rkacruiser]

My choices:

 

Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)

Ross Estate Lights Out Shiraz (Australia)

Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay (California)

Calina Reserva Carmenere (Chile)

 

Some of these are difficult to find in Ohio. I first went to Total Wine last March and the choices almost blew my mind!

[tooalto]

I, personally, would like to see one bottle pp in each port, especially on itineraries where there are great wine countries.

 

We tend to like Italian wines, reds and whites, and love to try different wines in the great Med ports.

[sevenseasnomad]

Some of us optimists think HAL may loosen their new restrictions a bit and I don't think it unreasonable they could agree to permitting two bottles per person.

 

If HAL were to allow you to bring four bottles of wine aboard when you embark, which four bottles would you bring?

 

I've read so many impassioned posts from wine lovers that they want to be able to enjoy their wines of choice and I totally understand that as DH and I fully enjoy wine every evening on the ships with wine.

 

Which are the four wines you would bring?

 

For all of you who are wine lovers, I hope Sail is correct. If this does indeed become the new policy, it may not be everything all of you were hoping for, but at least, it's a step toward a less restrictive policy.

[Mar56]

Kim Crawford Pinot Grigio (New Zealand)

 

No. 99 Merlot (Canadian)

[kazu]

That is what I am seeking for info.

Thanks for sharing about your Spanish choices. We, too, are very fond of Riojas.

When in Spain, we sometimes had a house Rioja in a carafe and loved it.

 

Also seeking those wines you bring on when you are sailing from FLL and go to Total Wine. :)

The feelings about bringing wine are so genuinely passionate, I was hoping we all could learn something about wines we may never have tried or compare those we have mutual taste for.

 

 

 

 

Thanks. :)

 

[/b]

 

 

Sail - our choices at Total Wine change constantly - it depends upon what is in stock in all honesty. it can vary. The first time we went we were there for over an hour trying to make decisions. Now, we have learned where to find things and can make decisions faster.

 

One nice thing about Total wine = they have a booklet at the front/flyer saying what wines have won awards which can be very helpful.

 

The list of what we picked last cruise would vary substantially from what we got last time (not country, but names) mainly because things have changed.

 

anyone going there should explore - ask for help (staff are very, very good) and have fun. The shop in Port Everglades is well done IMO with staff willing to help and a great selection - ever changing - but always very, very good.

 

I would defy anyone to not find a bottle or two (or four) that they wouldn't want to enjoy:D

[LindaM]

We have found the wine shops in Europe to be most helpful. We enjoy trying their suggestions. I don't know if it's the excitement of being in Europe, but I've never had a bad bottle there. Recently in Bordeaux, the proprietor was most helpful in finding something that would be memorable in our price range!

 

I am on a mission to find a wonderful Chardonnay for less than $15. Our local grocery store chain has a great selection and prices, to compete with the big stores. So far, I like Bogle and Sterling.

 

Seriously, 1 bottle per person is not reasonable for a 7 day cruise. 1/2 glass a day---on vacation? I truly believe HAL will charge a corkage. Seems like HAL has raised prices across the board recently. The wine drinkers will be paying a surcharge. As long as I can pay a corkage, I am learning to accept this. I'll mentally factor it into the total price of the cruise. For every bottle we bring on, the cruise price goes up. A 14 night cruise times $20/bottle/night equals a $280 price hike. Gotta get used to it if I want to sail Prinsendam for the next 5 years!!

 

This is my theory why HAL is checking everyone's wine and keeping track....to give the staff practice in monitoring all wine brought aboard, so they will have experience being able to track and then enforce---charging our onboard account as we enter the ship.

[sail7seas]

Thanks everyone who has shared their wine choices.

 

I saw some familiar wines mentioned......

 

Villa Maria is a favorite of ours in place of the more pricey Cloudy Bay.

We've had some Sterling wines we thought good for the price.

One of our recent travel companions on our Veendam cruise enjoyed Pinot Grigio many evenings.

 

Been some good posts here. Thanks. :)

[sail7seas]

Sail - our choices at Total Wine change constantly - it depends upon what is in stock in all honesty. it can vary. The first time we went we were there for over an hour trying to make decisions. Now, we have learned where to find things and can make decisions faster.

 

One nice thing about Total wine = they have a booklet at the front/flyer saying what wines have won awards which can be very helpful.

 

The list of what we picked last cruise would vary substantially from what we got last time (not country, but names) mainly because things have changed.

 

anyone going there should explore - ask for help (staff are very, very good) and have fun. The shop in Port Everglades is well done IMO with staff willing to help and a great selection - ever changing - but always very, very good.

 

I would defy anyone to not find a bottle or two (or four) that they wouldn't want to enjoy:D

 

 

Thanks, Kazu.

 

I was hoping you'd share some suggestions but I understand.....

 

You get different wines each time.

It would have been good to learn from you as you seem to be quite serious about selecting, tasting, enjoying many different wines.

 

 

 

[PathfinderEss]

I like blends which most of these are and apparently I like wines from California :D:D

 

Prisoner - Calif red

Conundrum - Calif white

Mixed Black - Girad Calif red

White Zin - Beringer Calif

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

I am just wondering how HAl is going to sell tours to winery's if you not allowed to bring sny wine aboed. If the charge to go on a tour and then charge you for for bring some bottles from the winery does not seem fair. Why would anyone go on these tours if you can't enjoy the wine. How much profit does the cruise ship make on these tours? Maybe HAL could go to the winery and buy wine from thme with a small charge.

 

 

Mary

[cruisemom42]

For the Caribbean:

 

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc -- one of my favorite NZ SBs

 

Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay -- remains a favorite after more than 20 years

 

Domaine Georges Vernay Viognier -- when only a French Viognier will do

 

7 Deadly Zins -- because even in the Caribbean you sometimes need a red wine

 

 

For the Med:

 

Greco di Tufo -- a light, almost fizzy white from the Campania region of Italy, perfect drink for the balcony

 

Santiago Ruiz -- a blended white wine from Spain, like drinking the Mediterranean in a glass

 

Throw in the Viognier from above

 

A good Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany -- because even in the Med you sometimes need a red wine

[startwin]

Thanks everyone who has shared their wine choices.

 

I saw some familiar wines mentioned......

 

Villa Maria is a favorite of ours in place of the more pricey Cloudy Bay.

We've had some Sterling wines we thought good for the price.

One of our recent travel companions on our Veendam cruise enjoyed Pinot Grigio many evenings.

 

Been some good posts here. Thanks. :)

 

Which wines do you buy onboard, Sail?

[sail7seas]

 

Which wines do you buy onboard, Sail?

 

 

I'm not the wine afficionado others here are but some wines we like are:

 

L'ecole

Silverado Cab

Villa Maria

 

How about you, Startwin? I'm really interested to try and find some of those BC wines you made reference to. I'd love to see if I could find them locally in one of our wine stores.

[startwin]

I'm not the wine afficionado others here are but some wines we like are:

 

L'ecole

Silverado Cab

Villa Maria

 

How about you, Startwin? I'm really interested to try and find some of those BC wines you made reference to. I'd love to see if I could find them locally in one of our wine stores.

 

Copper Moon Pinot Grigio is my all-time favourite, but I also like Oyster Bay and Apothetic. And some Reislings, depending on the year.

 

(I may not have spelled that quite right, just came in after a girls night of drinking wine, LOL)

[sammygoose]

For me wines are an adventure. I'm no expert but I love to experience wines from all over and the LCBO in Ontario allows me to do that from home so I don't feel the need to shop for the ship per say.

Cruising in Europe allowed me to pick up a bottle or two of the local wine and enjoy the port I'm in- good or bad to me it's like pizza in Naples- you may like it just as good at home or not but damn you had it in Naples-same goes for the wine. I hope you get my bad analogy.

I think that's where HAL's new policy really burns. How can you go to Tuscany and not come back with a bottle-any bottle- and enjoy your time on the balcony saluting the local wine? Part of the search, the adventure is coming back with some booty in port to share with loved ones.

Liked the shout out for Conundrum,Villa Maria and Grgich.

I'd add Cline and Two Hands plus a beaujolais villages. Beaujolais gets such a bad rap....

[jer_l]

On our Alaska cruise in July we went to BC Liquors in Richmond where we were staying and she recommended some BC whites which we bought. I think we bought a pinot grigio and a reisling plus a couple of sparkling wines from BC. We were quite pleased with her recommendations.

 

The sparkling wines we drank at sail aways from Vancouver and ? and the whites we took to the MDR where we paid a corkage fee.

[Wastegirl]

Being on the doorstep of literally hundreds, if not in the thousands of wineries half the fun pre cruise was going on a Sunday drive round to a group of wineries and tasting all the vintages.

 

We spent the months before leaving trying new wines and purchasing those we liked. Then just before the cruise whittling our choice down to 9 bottles which we took with us. Most of these were not even available in Liquor Stores, sold Cellar Door only in limited vintages. Very boutique.

 

So not only did we have the fun pre cruise in planning our excursions, what to pack, read cruise critic, etc, we also had the fun of all those winery excursions.

 

So I can't list what we would take because our choices were a destination in themselves :) This time however I must admit we are not doing that because going to New Zealand, from previous experience, even their Liquor Stores have wines we don't see in Australia so we will be visiting a few on our way round that beautiful country.

[MR NW GUY]

We have found the wine shops in Europe to be most helpful. We enjoy trying their suggestions. I don't know if it's the excitement of being in Europe, but I've never had a bad bottle there. Recently in Bordeaux, the proprietor was most helpful in finding something that would be memorable in our price range!

 

I am on a mission to find a wonderful Chardonnay for less than $15. Our local grocery store chain has a great selection and prices, to compete with the big stores. So far, I like Bogle and Sterling.

 

Seriously, 1 bottle per person is not reasonable for a 7 day cruise. 1/2 glass a day---on vacation? I truly believe HAL will charge a corkage. Seems like HAL has raised prices across the board recently. The wine drinkers will be paying a surcharge. As long as I can pay a corkage, I am learning to accept this. I'll mentally factor it into the total price of the cruise. For every bottle we bring on, the cruise price goes up. A 14 night cruise times $20/bottle/night equals a $280 price hike. Gotta get used to it if I want to sail Prinsendam for the next 5 years!!

 

This is my theory why HAL is checking everyone's wine and keeping track....to give the staff practice in monitoring all wine brought aboard, so they will have experience being able to track and then enforce---charging our onboard account as we enter the ship.

I think you just made the case for HAL to NOT relax the new policy.

[Host Walt]

Our objective in lugging our own wines on board is to have wines that HAL does not offer, namely older vintages of good red wines. The fact that whites normally don't age well and HAL's offerings of whites include some of the white varietals that we like, paying HAL their full wine list prices to save having to lug whites from our own supply at home makes sense.

 

The 4 labels we would bring along would include a Silver Oak Cab, a Jordan cab, a Rafanelli Zin and a Williams Selyem Pinot Noir. The Cabs and the Zin would be from 2003 or earlier and the Pinot from 2003 thru 2005.