RIP Caymus

[Ron the Rev]

It looks like Princess have either discontinued or will soon discontinue top of their wine list Caymus ( and other high price wines ). We were on the Emerald in August and the Ruby in December. I normally make a bottle last two nights dinners and on both cruises I drank them dry. Maitre d's thoughts were that today's clientele are less discerning and are happy with two buck chuck. So sad.

[adaptabl]

I don't the wine list will be two buck chuck wines.

 

We were at a wine tasting party a few weeks ago and one of our friends buys his wine by price alone. It was funny that when the tasting was blind he had no idea the difference in a $30.00 bottle and a $100.00+ bottle. Let him see the labels and he sounds like a wine magazine editor. It was good for a laugh at his expense.

 

We don't drink grape punch wines but enjoy a good mid price wine.

 

You can also bring your own wine if you wish.

[Bruinboy]

For someone like me, who has a wine cellar in our home, my wife and I enjoy a good wine from time to time. I do hope they provide wine for all palates, but if they don't sell I can see the rationale behind discontinuing those that don't. I love wine, but my favorite is always the one in my hand at the moment :)

[georgiavol]

This is more about profit than offering high quality wines to the passengers. Princess can mark up the heck out of the mid value wines.

[Loonbeam]

Also, cost is based on volumes. If they are not selling enough of a given brand to get a good price from the distributor they will look for brands where they will...

 

Part of the issue I think is there are a lot of 'mid-tier' wines that compare very favorably to the higher tier ones at a lower price point, which makes them more attractive to purchasers. If you can get a bottle for $15-$30 that is 98 percent as good as one at $100 (and you can for many varieties), why wouldn't you?

[Hawaiidan]

Is one of the premier cru napa wines and Garry Ferrell the wine maker a man or perfection.... The retail, or did starting at about $38 to 45 for Napa Cab and $150+ for special select. Their spinoff Conundrum is a exciting blend of 4 great whites... if sells locally here in Ca for about $39 a bottle

 

I have heard the argument that most cant tell the difference between a 30 dollar and an 100+ wine... And for some wines in some vintages that might be true... However for the majority it is not I had a friend bet me that he could not tell the difference... So I ordered a cheap wine he picked and I selected a premier cru French pomerol Le Evangeline that was about $150. The wine steward poured 2 glasses for each of us...no label.

 

The cheaper wine was ok... little sharp and it stayed that way for the tasting

The Evangeline... came off with no bite and a aroma of fruit. 5 min later my friend tasted both again. The cheaper remained un changed... the other became and entirely different taste...richer and with new flavors popping up

This went on for some 30 min. with the same results the Evangeline evolving slowly and changing to a richer and richer series of tastes each smoother and different....

My Friend, a beer and Harley Davidson guy simply looked at me and said wow., boy was I wrong....

 

Don't get me wrong I like box and jug wine and things there's nothing bad about a $2.50 bottle.... However, I do realize that should I want something truly special for a special dinner that you do get your money worth. Don't fool your self and miss out on a experience...... Don't buy wine blindly or on price... take a second and look up "Robert Parker" and do a little research it fun and easy. You do research of a cruise, why not on a wine.....what have you got to loose

[golfb4cruzing]

My wife drags me to the wine tastings every trip. Honestly, I just don't get it. Drinking rotted fruit isn't for me and swirl around a glass and sticking your nose in it isn't on my to do list. But she enjoys it and Bass Ale has never had a bad year for me.

[BridgeMates]

Is one of the premier cru napa wines and Garry Ferrell the wine maker a man or perfection.... The retail, or did starting at about $38 to 45 for Napa Cab and $150+ for special select. Their spinoff Conundrum is a exciting blend of 4 great whites... if sells locally here in Ca for about $39 a bottle

 

 

I don't know much about wines, just know I like it. Funny you should mention Conundrum. Just discovered this one recently. I wonder if they'll have it on our Emerald Princess cruise later this month? Plan on bringing a couple bottles of my own of course. :)

[custompcsys]

My Friend, a beer and Harley Davidson guy simply looked at me and said wow., boy was I wrong....

 

You should really take a look at the demographic for Harley owners these days. Its not the Easy Rider / Sons of Anarchy stereotype any more. Many of us are professionals who finally have the means to own one and just like to ride. And yes, some of us even drink wine :eek::D

Edited January 2, 2015 by custompcsys
typo

[Hawaiidan]

You should really take a look at the demographic for Harley owners these days. Its not the Easy Rider / Sons of Anarchy stereotype any more. Many of us are professionals who finally have the means to own one and just like to ride. And yes, some of us even drink wine :eek::D

 

Relax...I owned a Dyna Wide glide for years... Perhaps I might have chosen a different metaphor ..... relax

[richstowe]

My wife drags me to the wine tastings every trip. Honestly, I just don't get it. Drinking rotted fruit isn't for me and swirl around a glass and sticking your nose in it isn't on my to do list. But she enjoys it and Bass Ale has never had a bad year for me.

But then you don't get to prattle on about tannins , bouquet and your latest wine "find".

[JimmyVWine]

Is one of the premier cru napa wines and Garry Ferrell the wine maker a man or perfection....

???

Are you suggesting that Gary Farrell is the winemaker at Caymus? Caymus is owned and operated by the Wagner family with Chuck and Joe handling the wine making duties. Gary Farrell owns and operates a winery in Sonoma that produces Burgundian and Rhone style wines.

 

It would be a shame if Princess eliminates the higher end wines from the MDRs. Though I suspect that some will remain in the Specialty restaurants. If they are truly heading in this direction, they had better not change their lenient personal wine policy. If drinking great wines means that I have to pull them from my cellar, so be it. But they better let me!

[JimmyVWine]

Double post

Edited January 3, 2015 by JimmyVWine
Double post

[Carolyn R]

On my last two cruises the ship has run out of at least one of my preferred wines. I subsequently learned that where a wine may be out of stock in the MDR, it may be the specialty restaurants will have their private stash. I asked, was pleasantly surprised when they had it in the Crown Grill, and purchased an extra bottle to take to the MDR another night.

[Cruise Raider]

It looks like Princess have either discontinued or will soon discontinue top of their wine list Caymus ( and other high price wines ). We were on the Emerald in August and the Ruby in December. I normally make a bottle last two nights dinners and on both cruises I drank them dry. Maitre d's thoughts were that today's clientele are less discerning and are happy with two buck chuck. So sad.

 

They certainly have some very nice wines on the list that are somewhere between Caymus and 2 buck chuck.

[DebJ14]

I certainly hope they don't discontinue the high end wines on Princess.

 

There was a big problem with Caymus on a RCCL we took. Some table mates ordered a bottle of Caymus and it was corked. He called over the head waiter who tried to convince him that it should taste like vinegar. He poured some for the rest of us at the table and we all agreed it was awful. The cork was crumbling all over the table cloth too. They finally got the Maitre'D involved and he said to go get another bottle. It too was corked. They brought down the rest of the case and it was all bad - it had been improperly stored. $96.00 X 12 = a nice loss of revenue for the ship.

 

I really wish they still had Sommeliers on all the ships instead of trying to impart minimal knowledge to the waiters.