AOS Wine List

[billlisa]

My wife and I will be sailing on the AOS 4/12 and we are major wine lovers. Does anyone happen to have the current wine list or a link to the wine list.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Clarea]

There are several wine lists, whether you are on Adventure, Allure, or Anthem. The one below is from the Main Dining Room.

 

Wine list starts on post #637:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1992376&page=32

[billlisa]

Thanks very much for your reply and the link.

 

I have to say, if you know and care about wine, this list tells a story about how little RCCL cares about their wine program.

 

1) By not listing the vintages they do not give you the ability to assess the wine they are selling. Different vintage years of the same wines are different wines. Any restaurant that cares about wine will always list the year even inexpensive restaurants.

 

2) The list is heavily weighted towards inexpensive mass produced products that can be marked up an insane amount and still be affordable...under $40 per bottle. Many of the wines on this list are 4 to 5 times the retail price which is unreasonable. Most restaurants mark up wines 2-3 times retail.

 

4) There is no reserve list of fine wines or older wines for those that like such things, care about such things and are willing to spend money on such things.

 

Just my 2 cents...I will still go on AOS in April and have a great time....just might drink more Gin and Tonics and the two bottles I bring on board myself.

 

Thanks,

Bill

[Clarea]

Thanks very much for your reply and the link.

 

I have to say, if you know and care about wine, this list tells a story about how little RCCL cares about their wine program.

 

1) By not listing the vintages they do not give you the ability to assess the wine they are selling. Different vintage years of the same wines are different wines. Any restaurant that cares about wine will always list the year even inexpensive restaurants.

 

2) The list is heavily weighted towards inexpensive mass produced products that can be marked up an insane amount and still be affordable...under $40 per bottle. Many of the wines on this list are 4 to 5 times the retail price which is unreasonable. Most restaurants mark up wines 2-3 times retail.

 

4) There is no reserve list of fine wines or older wines for those that like such things, care about such things and are willing to spend money on such things.

 

Just my 2 cents...I will still go on AOS in April and have a great time....just might drink more Gin and Tonics and the two bottles I bring on board myself.

 

Thanks,

Bill

Regarding the vintages, it was explained to me by people on more than one ship, that the wine is affected by the ship's motion, and therefore they cannot keep a particular bottle of wine onboard very long without it spoiling. I have no idea if this is true, but like I said, the same story has been told to me several times.

 

I agree with your point of view with regard to prices on lower end wines. The markup on these is very high. However, I've found the markup on higher end wines to be significantly less than restaurant markup.

Edited January 13, 2015 by clarea

[billlisa]

Regarding the vintages, it was explained to me by people on more than one ship, that the wine is affected by the ship's motion, and therefore they cannot keep a particular bottle of wine onboard very long without it spoiling. I have no idea if this is true, but like I said, the same story has been told to me several times

 

I don't buy the motion story. The reasoning I believe is that the wine list does not have to be updated when a vintage runs out giving the cruise line the ability to change vintages at anytime.

[SC_Floaters]

I don't buy the motion story. The reasoning I believe is that the wine list does not have to be updated when a vintage runs out giving the cruise line the ability to change vintages at anytime.

 

Vibration is another enemy of wine. As red wine ages, it is common for the wine to “throw sediment”, a natural aging process which physically separates solids, principally tannic acid, from the wine. For this reason, collectors will often try to introduce as little movement as possible into the aging equation, for fear of re-integrating sediments back into the wine.

 

On a larger scale, vibration introduces kinetic energy into the wine, which is the opposite of what you are seeking to achieve. A 2008 study has found that even low levels of constant vibration detrimentally alters the chemical composition of wine in as little as 18 months. In 2011, wine writer, researcher, and educator, Maria Lorraine Binchet summarized the 2008 study as follows:

 

“The organoleptic information is there, just cloaked in chemical terms. The effect of vibration on wine is that it kills flavors and aromas. From the abstract:

 

Decreased Tartaric Acid = the primary acid in grapes, responsible for the
 taste, feel and color of a wine. Decreased tartaric acid means the wine tastes
 and feels less like wine.

 

Decreased Succinic Acid = reacts with other molecules to form esters, the defining flavor components of wine. A big effect.

 

Decreased esters = decreased flavor.

 

Increased Refractive Index = the wine becomes sweeter [yet loses overall flavor].

 

Increased Propanol = decrease in aromas, increase in smell of cooked potatoes. "High concentrations of propanol are probably an indication of inferior wine
[Fleet, 1993]."

 

Increased Isoamyl Alcohol = tendency to form acetone/acetates; smells of fusel, whiskey, banana popsicle. Indicates the wine has degraded.” ...

[billlisa]

Vibration is another enemy of wine. As red wine ages, it is common for the wine to “throw sediment”, a natural aging process which physically separates solids, principally tannic acid, from the wine. For this reason, collectors will often try to introduce as little movement as possible into the aging equation, for fear of re-integrating sediments back into the wine.

 

On a larger scale, vibration introduces kinetic energy into the wine, which is the opposite of what you are seeking to achieve. A 2008 study has found that even low levels of constant vibration detrimentally alters the chemical composition of wine in as little as 18 months. In 2011, wine writer, researcher, and educator, Maria Lorraine Binchet summarized the 2008 study as follows:

 

“The organoleptic information is there, just cloaked in chemical terms. The effect of vibration on wine is that it kills flavors and aromas. From the abstract:

 

Decreased Tartaric Acid = the primary acid in grapes, responsible for the
 taste, feel and color of a wine. Decreased tartaric acid means the wine tastes
 and feels less like wine.

 

Decreased Succinic Acid = reacts with other molecules to form esters, the defining flavor components of wine. A big effect.

 

Decreased esters = decreased flavor.

 

Increased Refractive Index = the wine becomes sweeter [yet loses overall flavor].

 

Increased Propanol = decrease in aromas, increase in smell of cooked potatoes. "High concentrations of propanol are probably an indication of inferior wine
[Fleet, 1993]."

 

Increased Isoamyl Alcohol = tendency to form acetone/acetates; smells of fusel, whiskey, banana popsicle. Indicates the wine has degraded.” ...

 

Thank you for the science lesson. I have been a wine collector since I was old enough to drink...my father was a oenophile as well. What you describe above is the long term aging process that occurs over many years of bottle age. I am discussing short term storage, in the case of cruise lines....storage for a few weeks or months will have little effect on wines.

 

Please see this link to Cunard's wine list. They are certainly not going to put the age worthy as well as the older vintage wines on this list at risk. I would also note that they list vintages for all wines regardless of price or pedigree. In the case where they feel they may run out of a vintage, they list two years as in 2012/13.

 

http://http://www.cunard.com/Documents/Brochures/Wine/Cunard%20Wine%20List%202014.pdf

 

Most cruise lines list vintages. Not listing them is only to avoid having to print a new wine list and save the dollars that costs.