Robjame Posted July 10 #1 Share Posted July 10 I see from a Vista YouTube video, that there are sommelier-led Food and Wine Pairing luncheon, held in Ember. These are not to be confused with the Wine Spectator meals. Anyone have some information about these - price, where/when do they show up on the Oceania website, worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basor Posted July 10 #2 Share Posted July 10 We attended these last Fall on Vista.....we enjoyed them very much, They do not show up on the website but will be advertised in Currents and also offered by the various wine stewards around the ship. I do not remember the price but felt they were definitely worth it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Harters Posted July 10 #3 Share Posted July 10 I can't recall such an event being mentioned in Currents during our transatlantic earlier this year. Of course, that may say more about my memory than anything else 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowananny Posted July 10 #4 Share Posted July 10 We went to one on our January Caribbean cruise. We did not know about it ahead of time and our wine steward on our first lunch on Vista recommended it to us. It is expensive. They had two. The first was either $150 or $159 with a 20% service charge. This is the one we attended. They did have a second lunch that was right around $100 and I'm sure you needed to include the service charge also. The food and wine were both very good and we enjoyed ourselves very much. They had some very nice wines, not the stuff you get in the dining room. The food was very, very good and the head sommelier gave a review of all the wines we tried. And they weren't tiny portions. We could have easily spent just as much money on an excursion but both my husband and I agreed that this was better for us. They had a good crowd attending, probably about 75 people and everyone seemed to be having a good time. We had to cancel our meal for Polo that evening as I said there was no way I could eat another big meal that day. We were able to reschedule for a few days later when we had a little more room in our tummies. If you like wine I recommend it and it's much less than the Privee version in the evening. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennybenny Posted July 10 #5 Share Posted July 10 Sounds fun! We totally would have done something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 11 #6 Share Posted July 11 They had one such luncheon on our Vista cruise. It was not on a sea day, but a port day. Recollection is that it was only advertised a couple days prior to the event. We already had private tour plans and weren’t cancelling them. In all it seemed more like an affair for those cruising for the ship, not the ports, thus adding more activities for that select group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowananny Posted July 11 #7 Share Posted July 11 Our luncheon was on the second day which was a sea day. I don't think they would have had 75 people present had it been a port day. The wine stewards managed to round up that many people in just a day. I don't think it was ever advertised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowananny Posted July 11 #8 Share Posted July 11 Just something that came to mind. More than once I've stayed on board when my husband went on excursion because I do have some mobility issues. I can tell you O does very little for those who don't want to visit a port. Maybe late in the afternoon they may have the band come out and play in the Caribbean when people get back but I've certainly never seen any special lunches for those who stay on board. I've never been bored but I have never noticed anything special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowananny Posted July 11 #9 Share Posted July 11 By the way, I meant to say it was the second sea day, not the second day on board. We had two sea days before we reached a port. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEu6117 Posted July 12 #10 Share Posted July 12 Below is the menu for the Cellar Master's Classic luncheon that iowananny has discussed. The quality and presentation of the six courses was excellent, but what impressed me the most was the generosity of the pours, especially considering the price of the wines. The Dom Perignon was 2013 vintage and is available on the internet for around $250/bottle; the Ornellaia 2019 goes for around $270, and you can pick up a 3-liter bottle of the 2016 Far Niente Dolce for a mere $1100 (and I got 2 glasses because nanny doesn't do sweet wines!). Each of us has our own scale for evaluating price vs value, but for me, I jumped at the chance to taste classic wines that I will probably never see again. (note: Bob Binder, former CEO of Oceania, owns an interest in Silver Trident Winery.) 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mexicobob Posted July 12 #11 Share Posted July 12 Sounds great. Also sounds like you have to be lucky to even hear about it. Sounds like news of the event is spread by word of mouth??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mauibabes Posted July 12 #12 Share Posted July 12 We were just in the new Silver Trident Winery Tasting room in Yountville CA for a wonderful tasting flight with a potato chip pairing. Of course the Benevolent Dictator was poured, see the set up from the table in the picture. We had a wonderful Red Blend and the Cabernet Sauvignon was also Great. We met Bob, the Proprietor as his business card said, there several months ago. We joined the wine club about a year ago so we can not pass thru Yountville without stopping for a “Splash” as Rebecca and the others refer to their tastings. He is no longer affiliated with Oceania but definitely welcomes Oceania cruisers if he is in town. You will recognize the replica of Riviera along with all the Ralph Lauren furnishings that adorn the Tasting Room. Stop bye and enjoy, Mauibabes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 12 #13 Share Posted July 12 9 hours ago, mauibabes said: We were just in the new Silver Trident Winery Tasting room in Yountville CA for a wonderful tasting flight with a potato chip pairing. Of course the Benevolent Dictator was poured, see the set up from the table in the picture. We had a wonderful Red Blend and the Cabernet Sauvignon was also Great. We met Bob, the Proprietor as his business card said, there several months ago. We joined the wine club about a year ago so we can not pass thru Yountville without stopping for a “Splash” as Rebecca and the others refer to their tastings. He is no longer affiliated with Oceania but definitely welcomes Oceania cruisers if he is in town. You will recognize the replica of Riviera along with all the Ralph Lauren furnishings that adorn the Tasting Room. Stop bye and enjoy, Mauibabes When you say new, is this different from the one they had a few years ago? We stopped there for a tasting I think back in 17 or so. Had a great time. What picture are you referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mauibabes Posted July 12 #14 Share Posted July 12 ORV, I was trying to add a picture of the wine glasses and chips set up to start the tasting but the photo file was too large and we could not get it to load to the Post. Any ideas? Yes, new Tasting Room as they moved in February across the street, out of the shared house with Ralph Lauren furnishings and down a half block in a new building with a plaza behind the Wells Fargo Bank, 6484 Washington St. They still share the facility with Ralph Lauren furnishings. The tastings menu is expanding beyond cheese and flavored potato chips as they are rolling out about 4 kinds of gourmet (my word, in case pizza can not qualify as gourmet) pizzas and paired with their Rose, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Red Blend and Cabernet Sauvignon. We were told we would get an announcement when it was officially announced. Looking forward to our next trip in September to pick up the seasons Red’s and pizza tasting. By the way for anyone who happens to stop by Silver Trident, the Potato Chip Extravaganza Tasting will set you back $75 pp unless you happen to pick up some wine. Not sure what the Pizza Tasting will cost. Just sharing info. Mauibabes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEu6117 Posted July 12 #15 Share Posted July 12 11 hours ago, mexicobob said: Sounds great. Also sounds like you have to be lucky to even hear about it. Sounds like news of the event is spread by word of mouth??? Bob, If there is a wine tasting event coming up, and if a wine steward senses you have some interest in wine (if you order a glass, for example) they will offer to sign you up. I'm pretty sure the wine staff is offered some incentive to promote the various wine tastings. They're not pests, but you will definitely hear about it. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mexicobob Posted July 14 #16 Share Posted July 14 On 7/12/2024 at 10:02 AM, MrEu6117 said: Bob, If there is a wine tasting event coming up, and if a wine steward senses you have some interest in wine (if you order a glass, for example) they will offer to sign you up. I'm pretty sure the wine staff is offered some incentive to promote the various wine tastings. They're not pests, but you will definitely hear about it. Thank you for the information. In the future will always ask about wine tasting events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraM Posted July 14 #17 Share Posted July 14 They normally have a print copy of all the tasting events at the sommelier desk - Including the sailing’s Ember lunches - We attended both lunches- found them to be priced about the same as the wine tastings on the other ships. Both were well attended — we enjoyed them, maybe too much! Don’t plan on anything after! The cellar master and the executive chef were both in attendance to explain the wines and pairings. I hope they can do something similar on the other ships. To tell the truth, we enjoyed this event as much as the La Reserve dinner— maybe even more— 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowananny Posted July 14 #18 Share Posted July 14 To be honest I didn't even know they had a sommelier desk but I'm glad we found out about the one lunch we did attend. I'll agree that I like the fact that they occur in the middle of the day rather than the evening. I seem much more able to handle vast amounts of food and wine during the day and then just have a light dinner. And both my husband and I took naps after the event. I also hope they start to have this type of lunch on all the ships. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 14 #19 Share Posted July 14 The sommelier desk, or station, seemed to be a moving target on Regatta this past April. Sometimes outside Terrace, sometimes outside Martinis, sometimes on deck 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraM Posted July 14 #20 Share Posted July 14 3 hours ago, ORV said: The sommelier desk, or station, seemed to be a moving target on Regatta this past April. Sometimes outside Terrace, sometimes outside Martinis, sometimes on deck 5. The pairing lunches are only on Vista, afaik- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 14 #21 Share Posted July 14 5 hours ago, BarbaraM said: The pairing lunches are only on Vista, afaik- Yes, but all the ships have drink packages and wine tastings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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