No Vines Wine Bar on Enchanted (& Discovery)

[c-boy]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I'd like to promote some of our fine wines from BC and Niagara.  Now, I do know BC has some very nice reds, but I do like the work done by Thirty Bench here in Ontario.  You will never see it though unless you happen to be sitting near me on a voyage and I have brought some from home (which I can only do if we are checking a bag).  Sads as it is nice to have some on hand.  It seems hard to believe that 20 years on, TSA and other similar organizations do not have smart enough scanners that can detect water and wine and soda versus other nefarious substances.  Meanwhile, I can do fine with Total Wine. 

 

I would like to know the soil texture composition and ph levels ( either naturally occurring or enhanced)  as to the diversity of varietals grown in the region.

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, c-boy said:

I would like to know the soil texture composition and ph levels ( either naturally occurring or enhanced)  as to the diversity of varietals grown in the region.

I cannot tell you about the soil and Ph composition, but no doubt literature can be found on the internet.  A local college offers a degree program related to viticulture and making wine. 

 

The area is most well-known for white wines like Riesling I would say.  And of course the Icewine that comes from those grapes.  An alternative grape for Icewine purposes is Vidal which can be obtained at a lower price point, but can be very good, depending on producer and year. 

 

Chardonnay does well and there are both unoaked and oaked versions.  There is not much (if any) of the over-oaking that can occur with some of the larger CA producers. 

 

In reds, there is Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and one or two minor varieties may be found.  I would say the Pinot Noir tends to be towards the fruity and lighter side.  Of course there are red blends made from the first three as well as single-varietals.  If you check a map you can see the Niagara Peninsula is bracketed by Lake Ontario to the north and Lake Erie to the south.  An escarpment runs down the spine in a general west-to-east direction and forms the cliff in the Niagara River that creates the Canadian and American Falls.  This hillside affects various micro-climates in the area and you will find all wineries on the north slopes or in the north flats (as surprising as that may sound).

 

I am not aware if any growers are artificially adjusting the soil Ph.  

 

There are no official micro-zones within the Peninsula, but some wineries will market or emphasize their location or specific vineyards.  There is a Vintner Quality Alliance whereby purchasers of a bottle with the designation are assured of 100% locally grown grapes.  While I appreciate wines from many areas, I do support our local industry as no doubt many vinophiles do living in other regions.  Niagara is a small player - think of the plenty of smaller producers in your state whose wines are not readily available outside the wineries. 

 

[suzyed]

9 hours ago, skynight said:

Wheelhouse bar I believe.

Duh!  Of course you're correct!

[Hlitner]

On 12/12/2021 at 10:58 AM, taxmantoo said:

The Crown Grill Bar will meet your needs.  All wines are available and just ask for the proper stemware.

Spoke to two bar tenders at the Crown Grill Bar (last evening).  They only offer the same pitiful “by the glass selection” found everywhere on the ship.  For those who enjoyed the decent Vines by the glass selection their suggestion is you now need to purchase an entire bottle.  But even these better bottle selections are only available in the various dining venues.  The bar also does not offer better stemware.

 

Hank

[taxmantoo]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Spoke to two bar tenders at the Crown Grill Bar (last evening).  They only offer the same pitiful “by the glass selection” found everywhere on the ship.  For those who enjoyed the decent Vines by the glass selection their suggestion is you now need to purchase an entire bottle.  But even these better bottle selections are only available in the various dining venues.  The bar also does not offer better stemware.

 

Hank

I totally believe you and what you were told BUT we must have spoken to different bartenders as our experience was quite different from yours 😉 This was on the Sky Princess where there is Vines but we got the same service in the Crown Grill Bar.

[Hlitner]

8 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

I totally believe you and what you were told BUT we must have spoken to different bartenders as our experience was quite different from yours 😉 This was on the Sky Princess where there is Vines but we got the same service in the Crown Grill Bar.

Not here.  The bar tenders said they do not open bottles of better wines for by the glass service because they have no ability to store open bottles and keep them drinkable.  We all agreed that Princess needs a helium wine storage system.  So we have few by the glass options unlike at Vines on the other ships.  I think the best Cab option here would be the Silverado.  No chance to buy a glass of Opus One or anything of that calibur.  We have heard that the Discovery will have the same limitation.

 

Hank

 

[CruisinFinsUp]

On some ships, Crooners had a different by the glass wine selection than some of the other bars and the restaurants.   We'd often grab a glass of our preferred from Crooners on the way to dinner because they had it by the glass whereas other locations on the ship either didn't have it at all, or were by the bottle only.   

 

From the wine lists posted on cruisecritic over the past few weeks it looks to me like the by the glass wine selection has definitely decreased significantly.    Just fewer offered than in the past.   

 

I'm hoping that some of it is startup and supply chain issues ... and that later on the by the glass selection improves a bit.   Not holding my breath, just hoping!   🙂

 

We haven't bothered the last couple cruises, but assuming we make it to our cruise in January, I think we'll stop at Total Wine and grab our permitted couple bottles to take with us, just to increase the variety available!  

 

 

[loge23]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Spoke to two bar tenders at the Crown Grill Bar (last evening).  They only offer the same pitiful “by the glass selection” found everywhere on the ship.  For those who enjoyed the decent Vines by the glass selection their suggestion is you now need to purchase an entire bottle.  But even these better bottle selections are only available in the various dining venues.  The bar also does not offer better stemware.

 

Hank

We all have our pain points when choosing cruises, and this is mine.

Unfortunately our next three cruises are booked with Princess and only one (Regal) still has a Vines.

Someone will have to enlighten me as to why Princess is lagging badly on wine service in comparison to their competition. My only explanation is that they're trying to push their guests to bottle service only as a labor saver. My snarkier version is that the Carnivalization of Princess continues unabated. 

Choose wisely. 

[GonzoWCS]

8 minutes ago, loge23 said:

We all have our pain points when choosing cruises, and this is mine.

Unfortunately our next three cruises are booked with Princess and only one (Regal) still has a Vines.

Someone will have to enlighten me as to why Princess is lagging badly on wine service in comparison to their competition. My only explanation is that they're trying to push their guests to bottle service only as a labor saver. My snarkier version is that the Carnivalization of Princess continues unabated. 

Choose wisely. 

LOL  Nice!

[c-boy]

2 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

LOL  Nice!

that last line speaks volumes 

[XBGuy]

Several years ago, I had an epiphany.  My wife is primarily a white wine drinker, and I am primarily, you guessed it, a red wine drinker.  When we sat down for dinner on the first evening of a cruise Mrs. XBGuy ordered a glass of white wine and I ordered a glass of red wine.  The server commented that if we ordered wine by the bottle, they would save what was leftover and would retrieve it for us on subsequent evenings.

 

Like most bars and restaurants, Princess pours five glasses of wine per bottle.  It is not hard to figure out how much more I would pay when ordering by the glass--multiply the BTG price by five and compare the result with the bottle price.

 

It is easy to spot the XBGuys at dinner time.  They are the couple with two bottles of wine--a red and a white--on the table.  One evening in SHARE, two ladies were dining at an adjacent table.  As they were leaving, one of them stopped by our table and gushed about what a great idea that was, and that she was going to start doing the same thing.

 

I have often posted here on Cruise Critic, that I like to bring some of my own wine on board.  So, if I bring a bottle of Apsara Cabernet Sauvignon to Crown Grill to have with a steak, Mrs. XBGuy might order a Pouilly-Fume off their wine list to have with her Mussel Pot.

 

We also order by the bottle in Vines.

[c-boy]

12 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

Several years ago, I had an epiphany.  My wife is primarily a white wine drinker, and I am primarily, you guessed it, a red wine drinker.  When we sat down for dinner on the first evening of a cruise Mrs. XBGuy ordered a glass of white wine and I ordered a glass of red wine.  The server commented that if we ordered wine by the bottle, they would save what was leftover and would retrieve it for us on subsequent evenings.

 

Like most bars and restaurants, Princess pours five glasses of wine per bottle.  It is not hard to figure out how much more I would pay when ordering by the glass--multiply the BTG price by five and compare the result with the bottle price.

 

It is easy to spot the XBGuys at dinner time.  They are the couple with two bottles of wine--a red and a white--on the table.  One evening in SHARE, two ladies were dining at an adjacent table.  As they were leaving, one of them stopped by our table and gushed about what a great idea that was, and that she was going to start doing the same thing.

 

I have often posted here on Cruise Critic, that I like to bring some of my own wine on board.  So, if I bring a bottle of Apsara Cabernet Sauvignon to Crown Grill to have with a steak, Mrs. XBGuy might order a Pouilly-Fume off their wine list to have with her Mussel Pot.

 

We also order by the bottle in Vines.

outstanding ! 👍 & 🥂

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, CruisinFinsUp said:

On some ships, Crooners had a different by the glass wine selection than some of the other bars and the restaurants.   We'd often grab a glass of our preferred from Crooners on the way to dinner because they had it by the glass whereas other locations on the ship either didn't have it at all, or were by the bottle only.   

 

From the wine lists posted on cruisecritic over the past few weeks it looks to me like the by the glass wine selection has definitely decreased significantly.    Just fewer offered than in the past.   

 

I'm hoping that some of it is startup and supply chain issues ... and that later on the by the glass selection improves a bit.   Not holding my breath, just hoping!   🙂

 

We haven't bothered the last couple cruises, but assuming we make it to our cruise in January, I think we'll stop at Total Wine and grab our permitted couple bottles to take with us, just to increase the variety available!  

 

 

You are permitted more than two - as long as willing to pony up the $20 corkage fee.  It pays.

[suzyed]

On 12/13/2021 at 11:31 AM, c-boy said:

you sir are man with good taste. I enjoyed your response thank you.

Or a woman with good taste...but DH agrees on the subject!  LOL!

[jwattle]

On 12/15/2021 at 11:10 AM, Steelers36 said:

You are permitted more than two - as long as willing to pony up the $20 corkage fee.  It pays.

Which we'll do when we bring our family vineyard on this March.🥂

[XBGuy]

31 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Which we'll do when we bring our family vineyard on this March.🥂

 

That sounds pretty cool.

 

I once met a vineyard owning couple on a Hawaii cruise.  I met them at one of those sea day wine tastings.  Hilariously, also at our table was a guy who had difficulty believing that anybody on the ship knew more about wines than he did.  It was a tad embarrassing.

[jwattle]

35 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

That sounds pretty cool.

 

I once met a vineyard owning couple on a Hawaii cruise.  I met them at one of those sea day wine tastings.  Hilariously, also at our table was a guy who had difficulty believing that anybody on the ship knew more about wines than he did.  It was a tad embarrassing.

I would have LOVED to sit at that table too 😄🥂