Wine tasting event worthwhile?

Looking forward to our upcoming first ever cruise! I noticed that RC offers a wine-tasting session. Can anyone tell me if it is good? We are not real wine snobs, but would be interested in this if it was worthwhile.

We've done these on other cruise lines (Celebrity, Princess). Not sure we'd do it again at this point but they were reasonably priced and reasonably interesting to do one or 2x.

Looking forward to our upcoming first ever cruise! I noticed that RC offers a wine-tasting session. Can anyone tell me if it is good? We are not real wine snobs, but would be interested in this if it was worthwhile.

If you want a basic understanding of some different wines, it might be interesting to you. Otherwise, I don't think it's worth the time or money.

You'll be paying money to potentially drink wines you don't like....better to just drink the wine you DO like, and pay for that!

You'll be paying money to potentially drink wines you don't like....better to just drink the wine you DO like, and pay for that!

If you go by that rule, you will never try something new. Especially for people new to wine.

And rarely is there a wine menu that there's something which has a 100% certainly that I will like it.

So I'm not up for this reason not to do it.

OP- if you are interested in wine, but never have gotten out and tasted a lot- any of the tastings will be interesting enough to pay for it. We prefer the tastings at Vintages better than the Laffite tastings. More so- if you find a ship that does a tasting WITH dinner, those are really nice- it's just the MDR dinner + a wine paired with each dish. My wife and I choose different dishes so that we cover more wine/food pairings for us.

If you go by that rule, you will never try something new. Especially for people new to wine.

And rarely is there a wine menu that there's something which has a 100% certainly that I will like it.

 

So I'm not up for this reason not to do it.

 

OP- if you are interested in wine, but never have gotten out and tasted a lot- any of the tastings will be interesting enough to pay for it. We prefer the tastings at Vintages better than the Laffite tastings. More so- if you find a ship that does a tasting WITH dinner, those are really nice- it's just the MDR dinner + a wine paired with each dish. My wife and I choose different dishes so that we cover more wine/food pairings for us.

Exactly. That would defeat the whole purpose of a wine tasting, which is to experience wines you've not had before. By CB's logic, I should never go to a winery I've never been to before because there's a chance they may have wines I don't like. So? That's part of the experience! I may also discover a wine that absolutely blows me away that I've never had before or a take on a style that I haven't been as into or discover a style I haven't had before.

Anyway, DW and I did a tasting at Vintages on Serenade that focused on Italian wines and loved it. The wine bar staff was incredibly knowledgeable and I learned more about Italian wines coming out than I knew going in. I think there may have been some finger foods that the Vintages staff procured for the tasting but it wasn't wine/food pairing. Still worth it and I'd still do it again!

I agree the wine tasting in Vintages is a great way to try wines you might not otherwise try. They do offer some small bites with the tastings. They also have wine flights, which are 3-4 small pours of similar wines to compare to each other. We tried 4 different Pinot Noirs from the same winery, but different vineyards. What an eye-opening experience.

We love Vintages and spend quite a bit of time there. We have friends who like beer or scotch and they have joined us with their favorite liquor without any problems.

Margee

We did the Lafitte wine tasting on the Explorer. We found it most interesting. (We are not wine snobs.) It was held in the MDR and the head wine steward conducted the tasting. They provided a fruit and cheese plate and explained how these foods complemented the wine you were tasting.

There were 4 wines, 3 reds- various blends of Merlot and Cabernet and 1 white. He presented information on the region of the grapes and at the end we were all given a folder with the information.

If you are just learning about wine it is a nice activity for a sea day. Ours was held about 3pm.

Enjoy!

Thanks so much for the comments. I think we might give it a try, perhaps on one of the two sea days, as suggested. :)

Thanks so much for the comments. I think we might give it a try, perhaps on one of the two sea days, as suggested. :)

Only way to really know is to TRY IT.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

We were on the C&A Member Cruise a couple weeks ago. One of the 'freebies' was a choice of two FREE classes to attend. We chose the Beer Tasting and the Wine Tasting. Both were interesting, but I liked the beer tasting more.

The wine tasting had 4 glasses of wine and info about them. The beer tasting had 8 different styles of beer to try out. Of course, it might be run differently on different ships....

The Lafitte wine tasting is fine, especially if you're not very experienced with wine and have a taste for French (Bordeaux) wines in general. It's a small number of mid-price, young (current release) Bordeaux wines. Other than probably the top end red, they're all "table wines" that would be drunk now.

Tastings at Vintages tend to be better, IMHO. They're not limited to a single label co-promotion situation, and have more freedom to explore regions, producers, grapes, and styles.

Oh, and the only way to ever know what wines you'll like is to be prepared to try things you might not! You may think you hate Chardonnay because all you've ever tried were over-oaked, full butter California wines; a Chablis, made with the same varietal, is a totally different wine!

if you know nothing about fermented grape juice but would like to learn, take a class.

if you are sort of familiar between the differences between Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio but want to know what cheeses go best with either, take the class.

if you want to try a different style of wine that you are used to drinking, take the class.

if you are a wine snob who scoffs at Neanderthals who can't tell the difference between French and American Oak aged Chardonnay, don't take the class.

We actually prefer to make our own flight at Vintages by making friends with the lead bartender/sommelier and customizing what is served.

You'll be paying money to potentially drink wines you don't like....better to just drink the wine you DO like, and pay for that!

wholeheartedly DISagree with this sentiment. far better to spend a few dollars for a sip of something you might not like rather than waste $30 on a bottle that gets dumped down the sink. it's not like you get a full glass of everything. Most wine tasting are one ounce pours.

and you can usually get them to kill the bottle of a favorite at the end of the formal tasting.

Oh, and the only way to ever know what wines you'll like is to be prepared to try things you might not! You may think you hate Chardonnay because all you've ever tried were over-oaked, full butter California wines; a Chablis, made with the same varietal, is a totally different wine!

you are my long lost twin. CA Chards are blech, Monterey for the longest time was producing buttered oak staves in liquid form. whenever I find a steel Chard I am over the moon.

you are my long lost twin. CA Chards are blech, Monterey for the longest time was producing buttered oak staves in liquid form. whenever I find a steel Chard I am over the moon.

Come out to the Yadkin Valley AVA in the NC Foothills. It's about an even split between barrel and steel chards. I like both - have had good of both and bad of both.