Wine suggestions for dinner

[CajunLiner]

What wines do ya'll (I'm a Louisiana girl!) recommend? We were on Galaxy in November and will be on her again in October. It seemed like we spent a lot of time with our sommelier each night trying to find a wine to enjoy with our meal. I prefer very cold and very dry wines. My husband could care less what it is, as long as it tastes good. I am by no means a connoisseur of fine wine (I prefer frozen drinks :o ), but do enjoy wine when we are cruising. What wines have you had on Celebrity that you would recommend?

 

Donna

[Mike2131]

What wines do ya'll (I'm a Louisiana girl!) recommend? We were on Galaxy in November and will be on her again in October. It seemed like we spent a lot of time with our sommelier each night trying to find a wine to enjoy with our meal. I prefer very cold and very dry wines. My husband could care less what it is, as long as it tastes good. I am by no means a connoisseur of fine wine (I prefer frozen drinks :o ), but do enjoy wine when we are cruising. What wines have you had on Celebrity that you would recommend?

 

Donna

 

Hi Donna!

I understand the problem in selecting a wine for dinner. I have a three ideas:

1) If you know the type of wine you prefer (for instance, Chardonnay), perhaps try a different bottle recommended by the sommelier. There might even be a small selection of splits on the Celebrity wine list, I just don't rememeber.

2) As an alternative, there is a selection of wines available by the glass. That might be a good idea for a "trial run".

3) Another idea is to attend a wine tasting or two during the cruise. I attended a "novice" tasting on the Coral Princess in December and then the Maitre d' Wine Club Tasting - very nice. I got to try wines I had never tried before and met some great people on the cruise!

 

Have a great cruise!

[AFT_LOVER]

with the wine tasting suggestion. A nice affair for $8 PP to sit with a group of other explorers, who get 4-5 different wines to sample & a plate of crackers, cheese, fruit to enjoy in bewteen. You may be surprised with a new favorite & the money paid goes towards the bottle at dinner.

 

I am an Asti Spumante gal. Love the sweet bubbles, a bottle lasts us 2 meals, usually purchased half way through the cruise. We have it in the fridge also.

[Lois R]

Donna, Hi:) I would suggest Chardonney for a Very Dry......talk to your Sommilier....they are usually very helpful.

 

I love wine too.....I don't like a too dry though.....actually I was sent a marvelous bottle in December...and will be purchasing the same next month....

 

Nobilio.....it is a Souvenign Blanc from New Zealand........not too dry and not too sweet either.......a smooth white:) .....and my Sommilier commented on it as well:D

[excitedofharpenden]

Donna, I like these threads:D

 

I'd agree with Lois on the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc above. We had a bottle one evening and loved it. The Pinot Grigio is good too and not too expensive. My favourite however is the Sancerre. It is not the very driest, but it is delicious. Have a go with one of the South African wines too.

 

Hoping you get a good sommelier. Ours was excellent and chose a couple for us, including the NZ one above. Let him/her know what you prefer and drink up;)

 

Phil

[Lois R]

Hi Phil:) hope you are doing well!

[ABSCruiseLuvers]

Sounds like you would enjoy Chardonnay. The best in my opinion are the French Burgundy whites made from Chardonnay grapes. But they cost more. As for U.S. wines; Napa Valley tends to produce drier (and a higher alcohol content) than their cousins in Sonoma. This of course is just a general rule.

 

Your best bet is to speak to the sommelier on the first night, give him or her your budget and explain what you like. Let them do the rest; hat’s what they are there for and they will love you for using them for more than just an “order taker”! I often let them pick and ask that they have whatever they pick chilled and ready for me when I get to the table.

 

The wine tasting can be good fun but they will probably spend very little time on dry white wine.

 

Whatever you do drink and enjoy! And remember life is too short to drink cheap wine!

[DeRon]

How does New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Asti Spumante compare to Miller Lite?

 

(Relax. I am just kidding!)

[CajunLiner]

I'm telling you, these boards are a wealth of information. My printer is burning up trying to keep up with the print outs I have been doing. Thanks for all the help and advice. We do plan to attend the wine tasting on this cruise as we were very disappointed in ourselves for not attending the one on our last cruise. I think we were overwhelmed with all the activites and simply forgot when it was. But now that we are experienced cruisers :D .......yeah, right!

 

Keep the suggestions coming!

 

Donna

[excitedofharpenden]

How does New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Asti Spumante compare to Miller Lite?

 

DeRon, I've never tried mixing them. I'll have a go and let you know.........:D

 

Phil

[Mike2131]

Donna, I like these threads:D

 

I'd agree with Lois on the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc above. We had a bottle one evening and loved it. The Pinot Grigio is good too and not too expensive. My favourite however is the Sancerre. It is not the very driest, but it is delicious. Have a go with one of the South African wines too.

 

Hoping you get a good sommelier. Ours was excellent and chose a couple for us, including the NZ one above. Let him/her know what you prefer and drink up;)

 

Phil

 

Hi Phil!

I think we have similar tastes. I definitely recommend a good Pinot Grigio or Sancerre. On the subject of whites, a couple of oldies but goodies come to mind - Chablis and a nice Bernkastler Doktor.

[nursewurmy]

If you like wine, but are limited to a few you like bring your own. We bring our own, because I like Texas wines. They charge you a 10.00 corkage fee, and will hold the wine and bring it to your table each night. We find it really helps to lower our liquor bill, and it is legal to do. I have been on 10 cruises, and have done this on each cruise. We do not hide it in our luggage, we carry it on with us so it does not break, and on one cruise the charged me to corkage up frount, but on all the others only in the room. We even have one vinyard here that puts a great wine in one of the very large bottles, and we were only charged 10.00

 

 

Becky

[pamkev]

I am more of a sweet wine person so what kind of wine does Celebrity have that I would enjoy? Pam

[fireguy091]

I am more of a sweet wine person so what kind of wine does Celebrity have that I would enjoy? Pam

Try some MD 20/20... :D

[canderson]

We even have one vinyard here that puts a great wine in one of the very large bottles, and we were only charged 10.00

Becky

Must have been a while back. It's been $15 for a while now, but that is still not a terrible thing if you're bringing a particularly nice bottle with you.

[canderson]

I am more of a sweet wine person so what kind of wine does Celebrity have that I would enjoy? Pam

Here's one from the specialty restaurant that might take your interest as an after dinner "dessert" wine. They'll bring it to you in the regular restaurant too, if you ask. DON'T let them overchill it -- you'll lose too much flavor.

[ArtM]

Donna

 

All good advice above.

 

When we did one of the wine tastings on board, the head sommelier said there are 3 things he tells a sommelier when he goes out to eat:

 

1. Something general about the kind of wine he likes.

2. What he is thinking about having as an entree

3. How much he is willing to pay.

 

Turns out he thought #3 was really helpful because a good sommelier wants you to be pleased in every way with his/her recommendations.

 

Art

[pamkev]

Thanks everyone for the info. I have some dessert wine I purchased when I was up Danno's way! It was awesome. I haven't found anything to compare here in the states! Pam

[Mike2131]

Thanks everyone for the info. I have some dessert wine I purchased when I was up Danno's way! It was awesome. I haven't found anything to compare here in the states! Pam

 

Hi Pam!

Are you talking about Ice Wine? If so, I agree it is wonderful. If you have tried the Canadian, give the German and Austrian wines a taste. They are superb!

 

I found a nice, reasonably-priced, dessert wine at one of the wine tastings on the Coral Princess - Essensia produced by Andrew Quady in Madera, CA. If it is available on Celebrity, give it a try. Another personal favorite is Tokay Aszu, a tremendous Hungarian wine that was rumored to be Napoleon's favorite!

[Ma Bell]

A couple of California Chardonays that Celebrity offers that you might enjoy are La Crema which is moderately priced and for a little more the Cakebread Cellars Chardonay is a very nice one.:)

[canderson]

Tokay Aszu, a tremendous Hungarian wine that was rumored to be Napoleon's favorite!

Believe it or not, it was that Constantia, above. When he was tossed out and sent to St. Helena (way down in the S. Atlantic) in 1815, he managed his "sweet tooth" with this wine from Groot Constantia until he died there in 1821. I'd known about this wine for a number of years, but hadn't tried it until our Dec '04 Summit sailing.

 

I find MOST dessert wines lacking in sufficient acidity -- the tart that balances the sweet. That applies to about 99% of those made in too warm climates in California, by the way. By the time the grapes have developed that much sugar, they've lost too much acidity.

 

The '99 Constantia could use just a touch more acidity, but it was good nonetheless.

 

My own preference is a good BA or TBA from the Mosel, but I appreciate anything with good balance.

 

Many who serve this type of wine seem to think it should be as cold as a banana daiquiri. A lot of the nose (scent) is lost this way, and that's one of the best features of most of these wines. Too cold, and you can't really taste them. It's interesting, though -- the ones that are all sugar and no tart are the ones that most people don't like any way BUT cold. I think the sweetness gets to them. It's amazing how much sugar can be pleasant with enough acid to back it up.

[Mike2131]

Believe it or not, it was that Constantia, above. When he was tossed out and sent to St. Helena (way down in the S. Atlantic) in 1815, he managed his "sweet tooth" with this wine from Groot Constantia until he died there in 1821. I'd known about this wine for a number of years, but hadn't tried it until our Dec '04 Summit sailing.

 

I find MOST dessert wines lacking in sufficient acidity -- the tart that balances the sweet. That applies to about 99% of those made in too warm climates in California, by the way. By the time the grapes have developed that much sugar, they've lost too much acidity.

 

The '99 Constantia could use just a touch more acidity, but it was good nonetheless.

 

My own preference is a good BA or TBA from the Mosel, but I appreciate anything with good balance.

 

Many who serve this type of wine seem to think it should be as cold as a banana daiquiri. A lot of the nose (scent) is lost this way, and that's one of the best features of most of these wines. Too cold, and you can't really taste them. It's interesting, though -- the ones that are all sugar and no tart are the ones that most people don't like any way BUT cold. I think the sweetness gets to them. It's amazing how much sugar can be pleasant with enough acid to back it up.

 

I agree. I don't want to be overwhelmed by the wine's sweetness. That's what I like about Tokay (when I can find it) since there are five steps in the sweetness. The Essensia was pretty mellow and was served just chilled, not ice cold. A good BA or TBA? I certainly can't fault that selection!

[Mike2131]

I must confess that I am not familiar with it, but I going to make a point to seek it out.

 

Thanks for the tip!

[canderson]

I agree. I don't want to be overwhelmed by the wine's sweetness. That's what I like about Tokay (when I can find it) since there are five steps in the sweetness. The Essensia was pretty mellow and was served just chilled, not ice cold. A good BA or TBA? I certainly can't fault that selection!

Sounds like we have some very similar tastes, so here's one for you to investigate. One of the very few Riesling hybrids that actually turned out a true winner is the Scheurebe grape. Not too many German vineyards are planted in this, and I have yet to run across a bad one -- it seems the vinters who are planting Scheurebe are also paying close attention in the cellar. I haven't tried the Kracher (Austrian) yet as I can't seem to find it here in CO.

 

More specifically, they do make Auslese and BA (sometimes TBA) wines from this grape. It usually has the floral intensity of a muscat grape but with a bit more refinement, and since it's grown in the right part of the world, more often than not it has that acidity that's needed. If you run across any Lingenfelder BA, that'd be a good start.

 

We took a couple of bottles of '90 Lingenfelder BA with us in the Dec 04 Summit cruise. Our sommelier said she couldn't find the grape in her "wine bible" (she needs another one!) and Ivo (sp?), the head sommelier, popped up from the Normadie to check it out, and was the person who pointed out the Constantia in their list. As a side note: the '90, now 15 years old, won't be hurt a bit by another 5 or 10 years in the cellar. So much for the old adage about whites not aging, eh?

[Happy ks]

Kind of OT but since you are all talking about wine, here goes:

 

DH and I mainly drink red wines, Cabs, Merlot, Chianti and sometimes we will order a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc or champagne for special occasions.

 

We received as a gift a bottle of ice wine, Ancient Coast, the label also says Vidal and VQA Niagara Peninsula, it is a Canadian wine. Is this a dessert wine? Is it to be served chilled? Sorry to sound uninformed, but we aren't big drinkers, most of the time only having wine in restaurants. The person gifting this to us usually gives a nice bottle, so I'm sure it is good, but I would like to know how to serve it before I open it. Thanks, sorry to be so naive about it.