Connoisseur Wine List - Silver Spirit, Jul 21, 2023

[Stumblefoot]

 

Attached is the current list by the bottle.  My thoughts (from an American pricing perspective) are as follows:

• Keeping with SS's heritage, Italian wines continue to offer the greatest value overall to passengers.
• Both white and red French Burgundy are priced fairly with some excellent bargains to be found.
• French Bordeaux continues to be over priced which has historically always been the case on SS.
• There are some gems to be found in the Champagne section.
• All three Spanish wines are priced below retail with two pushing 30% discounts.
• Those who like California Chardonnay will continue to be sorely disappointed in the boring offerings that haven't changed in at least four years.
• For those who like the always excellent Leeuwin Estate chardonnay are going to be sad to learn SS no longer prices the bottling below retail as the current price is now two-thirds higher than retail.

Happy Hunting!  Hopefully the color coding will help folks find the values on the list.  And, while I know wine ratings are always subjective, I have included Wine Spectator ratings when I could find them.

 

ConnoisseurWineListSilverSpirit20230721.xlsx

[mysty]

39 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

 

Attached is the current list by the bottle.  My thoughts (from an American pricing perspective) are as follows:

• Keeping with SS's heritage, Italian wines continue to offer the greatest value overall to passengers.
• Both white and red French Burgundy are priced fairly with some excellent bargains to be found.
• French Bordeaux continues to be over priced which has historically always been the case on SS.
• There are some gems to be found in the Champagne section.
• All three Spanish wines are priced below retail with two pushing 30% discounts.
• Those who like California Chardonnay will continue to be sorely disappointed in the boring offerings that haven't changed in at least four years.
• For those who like the always excellent Leeuwin Estate chardonnay are going to be sad to learn SS no longer prices the bottling below retail as the current price is now two-thirds higher than retail.

Happy Hunting!  Hopefully the color coding will help folks find the values on the list.  And, while I know wine ratings are always subjective, I have included Wine Spectator ratings when I could find them.

 

ConnoisseurWineListSilverSpirit20230721.xlsx 17.5 kB · 8 downloads

 

Awesome Stumble!  Thank you!

[WesW]

Well done Brian, thanks so much.

[jimdee3636]

@Stumblefoot

You sure as hell did a lot of work on this! Thanks!

 

jim

[highplanesdrifters]

Thanks for sharing, really appreciate. 

Edited July 30, 2023 by highplanesdrifters

[Whinenowine]

Very nice, thanks. I have to say the champagnes are the biggest standout for me in terms of quality/price--that's essentially retail for the Cristal and DP and a reasonable mark up on the Krug and Laurent Perrier.  My problem with the Italians isn't the pricing it's the age...too young for most of that Nebbiolo and Super Tuscans (for my tastes). 

[Winemaker_1]

Yes, thanks for posting!  Are these wine lists similar between ships and how often do they change?  On the Moon next year.

[Stumblefoot]

16 hours ago, Winemaker_1 said:

Are these wine lists similar between ships and how often do they change?

In general, yes, very similar.

 

In the past, changes on the Connoisseur List were relatively slow and from what I can tell, remain so.  Hopefully other wine aficionados will chime in with their recent experiences.

[Winemaker_1]

Is it me or does this list seem more like a Very Recognizable Wine Label List than a Connoisseur List.   I guess with limited space, they must be able to sell them so I shouldn't be surprised.  Pricing is indeed very fair as @Stumblefoot kindly noted in the spreadsheet.

 

I was hoping to be introduced to wines I can't find at home while on board - perhaps some new gems from the countries/regions on the cruise itinerary?  Do other wine offerings on board (I'm thinking of the SALT program) consider the locales?

[Lemorvan]

11 minutes ago, Winemaker_1 said:

Do other wine offerings on board (I'm thinking of the SALT program) consider the locales?

It’s a good point @Winemaker_1 that would add a great deal of interest and would certainly encourage me to buy additional wines over and above the included options. 

[jpalbny]

12 hours ago, Winemaker_1 said:

I was hoping to be introduced to wines I can't find at home while on board

 

Much easier to buy it ashore, at retail. If you want truly local stuff. That's our MO.

 

For instance, we did a 7-day circumnavigation of Corsica 2 years ago (on Ponant, but the principle still holds). Before we left home, I googled wine shops at each little town we planned to stop at. By the end of the trip I had a nice collection of 12 Corsican wines that I would have never found at home. And I got to chat about local wines with some shopkeepers in places off the beaten path, which was especially fun.

 

But we do this on SS cruises as well. And sometimes we grab a bottle or two from the connoisseur's list and bring that home too.

 

The SS connoisseur's list is going to be higher end stuff that is (sometimes) reasonably priced, but recognizable so that it will appeal to a large segment of passengers over all voyages. But not something hyperlocal and unique to the itinerary.

[Lirio]

On 7/29/2023 at 8:59 PM, Stumblefoot said:

 

Attached is the current list by the bottle.  My thoughts (from an American pricing perspective) are as follows:

• Keeping with SS's heritage, Italian wines continue to offer the greatest value overall to passengers.
• Both white and red French Burgundy are priced fairly with some excellent bargains to be found.
• French Bordeaux continues to be over priced which has historically always been the case on SS.
• There are some gems to be found in the Champagne section.
• All three Spanish wines are priced below retail with two pushing 30% discounts.
• Those who like California Chardonnay will continue to be sorely disappointed in the boring offerings that haven't changed in at least four years.
• For those who like the always excellent Leeuwin Estate chardonnay are going to be sad to learn SS no longer prices the bottling below retail as the current price is now two-thirds higher than retail.

Happy Hunting!  Hopefully the color coding will help folks find the values on the list.  And, while I know wine ratings are always subjective, I have included Wine Spectator ratings when I could find them.

 

ConnoisseurWineListSilverSpirit20230721.xlsx 17.5 kB · 172 downloads

Thank you. We are boarding in a week. I will do some research.

[Winemaker_1]

54 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

Much easier to buy it ashore, at retail. If you want truly local stuff. That's our MO.

Yes, this was our thought as well but I don't know how shipping wine home works from a SS cruise.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Winemaker_1

[taxatty]

13 minutes ago, Winemaker_1 said:

Yes, this was our thought as well but I don't know how shipping home works from a SS cruise.

We just brought bottles of wine and some olive oil home from Australia after our SS cruise there using something like this- https://www.amazon.com/Vinolock-Reusable-Wine-Bottle-Protector/dp/B019HN0W30/ref=sr_1_6?crid=TTZQN2TPI5S6&keywords=wine+bubble+bags&qid=1691022009&sprefix=wine+bubble+bags%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-6. These went into a fold-up 60L duffle bag similar to this one as checked luggage, surrounded by some clothes and souvenirs as extra padding.  https://www.rei.com/product/195807/rei-co-op-roadtripper-60-duffel. We bring the duffle bag empty in its pouch and it usually goes home full. We've now used this packing system several times without losing a drop.

Edited August 3, 2023 by taxatty

[jpalbny]

40 minutes ago, Winemaker_1 said:

Yes, this was our thought as well but I don't know how shipping wine home works from a SS cruise.

 

We have wine checks that hold 6 bottles each. Since we usually travel with just carry-on luggage we have plenty of extra baggage allowance to check wine on the way home.

 

Another alternative is to get something like this:

 

 20 Packs Wine Bottle Travel... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S71QLLM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

They pack flat and take up little room but once blown up they protect the bottles well. Similar concept to what taxatty posted above, but even more compact. Only downside is that they are single-use.

[Winemaker_1]

@jpalbny and @taxatty, thanks or the suggestions.  I hadn't seen these wine air bladders before.  Does SS hold your wine until disembarkation?  From what I read, SS doesn't seem to have a bottle limit  for bringing aboard so perhaps they don't care.

[Stumblefoot]

18 hours ago, Winemaker_1 said:

Do other wine offerings on board (I'm thinking of the SALT program) consider the locales?

That would be pretty slick and I like how you think!  Hopefully that will be the case when we try the SALT program for the first time next year.

[Dolcevita Diva]

There is an article in the latest Silversea blog post about the wine program, including some new facets on Silver Nova. 

 

https://discover.silversea.com/ships/silver-novas-wine-appreciation-is-an-evolution-for-the-silversea-fleet/

 

One item that I hadn’t seen mentioned previously is The Shelter, which was sparsely described on the Silver Nova deck plan, is a champagne bar that will feature the premium champagne offerings from Moët-Hennessy by the glass. 
 

[dawntrdr]

That explains a lot.  The "Champagne Bar" concept has been on mass market Royal Caribbean ships for years and, based on the price per (modest sized) glass, is a high margin revenue source.

[HappyCamper777]

Wow!  Thanks for taking the time to prepare this list, Stumblefoot.  Incredibly helpful work that benefits us all.  Much appreciated!

[jpalbny]

2 hours ago, HappyCamper777 said:

Wow!  Thanks for taking the time to prepare this list, Stumblefoot.  Incredibly helpful work that benefits us all.  Much appreciated!

 

Glad someone appreciates our pal Stumblefoot! I'll let him know.

[Whinenowine]

On 8/2/2023 at 8:30 PM, taxatty said:

We just brought bottles of wine and some olive oil home from Australia after our SS cruise there using something like this- https://www.amazon.com/Vinolock-Reusable-Wine-Bottle-Protector/dp/B019HN0W30/ref=sr_1_6?crid=TTZQN2TPI5S6&keywords=wine+bubble+bags&qid=1691022009&sprefix=wine+bubble+bags%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-6. These went into a fold-up 60L duffle bag similar to this one as checked luggage, surrounded by some clothes and souvenirs as extra padding.  https://www.rei.com/product/195807/rei-co-op-roadtripper-60-duffel. We bring the duffle bag empty in its pouch and it usually goes home full. We've now used this packing system several times without losing a drop.

Yes, used this last year both taking wines up to Anchorage/Seward on our cruise and then taking different wine home from Vancouer.  Good stuff.

[Whinenowine]

On 8/9/2023 at 2:02 PM, Dolcevita Diva said:

There is an article in the latest Silversea blog post about the wine program, including some new facets on Silver Nova. 

 

https://discover.silversea.com/ships/silver-novas-wine-appreciation-is-an-evolution-for-the-silversea-fleet/

 

One item that I hadn’t seen mentioned previously is The Shelter, which was sparsely described on the Silver Nova deck plan, is a champagne bar that will feature the premium champagne offerings from Moët-Hennessy by the glass. 
 

Wow, that's awesome!  It's hard to find Krug and DP by the glass on land (esp the roses)...but at sea its just fantastic.  Wonder if they have any Dom Ruinart as well....love that vintage BdB.  I'm debating cruising on Nova vs Grandeur next year....as geeky as it sounds, the Shelter may just tip the scales in Nova's favor.

 

[Dolcevita Diva]

30 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

Wow, that's awesome!  It's hard to find Krug and DP by the glass on land (esp the roses)...but at sea its just fantastic.  Wonder if they have any Dom Ruinart as well....love that vintage BdB.  I'm debating cruising on Nova vs Grandeur next year....as geeky as it sounds, the Shelter may just tip the scales in Nova's favor.

 

Agree, would love to be able to order just a glass of Krug. It will be interesting to see how they price these by the glass.  

I’ve been spoiled by Delta Airlines, though.   Up until last year, you could redeem 13,000 Skymiles for a bottle of DP or 2,600 for a glass in the Sky Club lounges.  Best Skymiles redemptions ever! 

[Dolcevita Diva]

On 8/10/2023 at 3:22 PM, Whinenowine said:

Wow, that's awesome!  It's hard to find Krug and DP by the glass on land (esp the roses)...but at sea its just fantastic.  Wonder if they have any Dom Ruinart as well....love that vintage BdB.  I'm debating cruising on Nova vs Grandeur next year....as geeky as it sounds, the Shelter may just tip the scales in Nova's favor.

 

The menu for the champagne bar has been posted elsewhere.

A few examples:

• Krug Grand Cuvee Blanc $265 bottle/$55 glass
• Krug Rose $380 bottle (no option shown for by the glass)
• Dom Perignon Vintage 2013 $235 bottle $45 glass
• Dom Perignon Vintage Rose 2008 $385 bottle $70 glass

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva