Lets discuss something else beside Divina; lets discuss wine!

[All aboard??]

Below an extract of the European Selection of wines for the upcoming South African season and as I board Sinfonia on Saturday for a B2B2B cruise of 14 days in total I was looking for some input regarding their wine list.

 

There are South African wines on board but save for one good red blend only the whites really shine unfortunately.

 

Borgogno Barolo

Piemonte-Italy

Grapes: Nebbiolo

 

Pasquier Desvignes Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Vallée du Rhône-France

Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan

 

Cavazza Cabernet Cicogna US$ 32.00

Veneto-Italy

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Pojer e Sandri Pinot Nero Vigneti

Trentino Alto Adige-Italy

Grapes: Pinot Noir

 

Borgogno Barbera d’Alba

Piemonte-Italy

Grapes: Barbera

 

Dalle Vigne Chianti Leonardo

Toscana-Italy

Grapes: Sangiovese, Merlot

 

Pojer e Sandri Pinot Nero Vigneti

Friuli Venezia Giulia-Italy

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Nebbiolo d’Alba MSC Selection DOC

Piemonte-Italy

Grapes: Nebbiolo

 

Castello di San Vittoria Merlot

Veneto-Italy

Grapes: Merlot

[Antonintassie]

nice selection much better than my Royal Princess cruise

[sidari]

AllAboard ... The wine and beers list for the Caribbean Divina season have all been changed with many US sourced wines now onboard, most of the Italian wines from the previous Europe cruise have been replaced.

[Skipper Tim]

AllAboard ... The wine and beers list for the Caribbean Divina season have all been changed with many US sourced wines now onboard, most of the Italian wines from the previous Europe cruise have been replaced.

 

Sidari, this was meant to be a Divina-free discussion.

 

I share the frustration with the domination of the forum with that one ship - all because it is in the U.S..

 

All Aboard?, I would start with MSC's own Nebbiolo d'Alba and see if it at all resembles a half-decent Barolo. You don't state prices but I imagine it is less than half the price of the Barolo.

 

Barbera was my everyday drinking wine when I lived in Turin, with Barolo reserved for the weekends. The stuff they export to the UK is not a patch on what the Italians keep for themselves so on an OTT Italian-themed ship, there is hope that both of these could be good examples.

 

Is there no Amarone della Valpolicella?

[AmoMondo]

Go with the barbera or Nebbiolo as a start and work up to the Barolo. The Pinot noir or chateauneuf probably worth a go as well.

 

With you about to 3 in a row, do all of them! You could even mock up tasting notes on each.

 

Have a fab time on the sinfonia. Do tell us all about it as like Tim, I'm sick to death of hearing of the Divina.

[All aboard??]

Go with the barbera or Nebbiolo as a start and work up to the Barolo. The Pinot noir or chateauneuf probably worth a go as well.

 

With you about to 3 in a row, do all of them! You could even mock up tasting notes on each.

 

Have a fab time on the sinfonia. Do tell us all about it as like Tim, I'm sick to death of hearing of the Divina.

 

I will be posting at the end of each segment as I fail miserably at live reviews - technically I am still stuck in Madeira :o

 

I even bought a Gopro and will try and edit a video as well; emphasis on try ;)

[All aboard??]

Sidari, this was meant to be a Divina-free discussion.

 

I share the frustration with the domination of the forum with that one ship - all because it is in the U.S..

 

All Aboard?, I would start with MSC's own Nebbiolo d'Alba and see if it at all resembles a half-decent Barolo. You don't state prices but I imagine it is less than half the price of the Barolo.

 

Barbera was my everyday drinking wine when I lived in Turin, with Barolo reserved for the weekends. The stuff they export to the UK is not a patch on what the Italians keep for themselves so on an OTT Italian-themed ship, there is hope that both of these could be good examples.

 

Is there no Amarone della Valpolicella?

 

I am going to ask if they have any Amarone store away after the crossing - holding thumbs..

[Skipper Tim]

I will be posting at the end of each segment as I fail miserably at live reviews - technically I am still stuck in Madeira :o

 

I even bought a Gopro and will try and edit a video as well; emphasis on try ;)

 

I would like to hear how you get on with the Sinfonia, the twin sister of the Armonia you abandoned us to, and also of the GoPro.

 

If video editing were not such a pain after the event, I would mostly shoot video with my camera. I will be trying the latest iMovie for Mac and iPad as soon as I get time off from cruise critics.

 

Have you declined the Allegrissimo or don't they have it on South African itineraries?

[All aboard??]

I would like to hear how you get on with the Sinfonia, the twin sister of the Armonia you abandoned us to, and also of the GoPro.

 

If video editing were not such a pain after the event, I would mostly shoot video with my camera. I will be trying the latest iMovie for Mac and iPad as soon as I get time off from cruise critics.

 

Have you declined the Allegrissimo or don't they have it on South African itineraries?

 

South Africans drink like Brazilians so no Allegrissimo in those waters, but the general prices are much cheaper - the Borolo is $44 only.

[Skipper Tim]

South Africans drink like Brazilians so no Allegrissimo in those waters, but the general prices are much cheaper - the Borolo is $44 only.

 

If that is half-decent it is a bargain! I make that £27 and the cheapest, nastiest Barolo in the UK is £15 at the supermarket and I would not risk buying it. On the ship, you can send it back if it is terrible.

 

I have just this minute bought 4 cases of Tesco Finest Douro which is meant to be a heavy wine (from the Port region), winner of Decanter Magazine Gold award this year and has very good reviews. Buying online these days is exceptionally complicated to maximise use of cashback, loyalty points, special offers, vouchers hanging on the web, etc. etc. I will need a good glass of wine to recover from the process of buying it.

 

The last time I bought douro was 20 years ago this year, in Portugal, when I just paid cash and they filled my my gallon canister with stuff which had never been near an award.