Wine Quality

[OrpingtonT]

I have never had good wine at Chili's.

I have enjoyed some good wine from Chile. :)

 

:) Good pun :)

[BILLP1]

Ragnar,

 

Nice to see that you are enjoying the excellent Napa Wines.

We we were disappointed with the wines on Silversea while there were other people that were happy. Yes you could ask for an alternative wine but it was just another just not too great bottle of wine. The wine being poured by Regent was to us a much better selection..

 

Regards to you and your wife....

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Thanks Bill! Yes we enjoyed the quality and variety of the wines on Regent (way back in 2007). We really apprecieted the sommelier (from eastern europe I think), she really knew her stuff and was eager to bring us wines we liked. I looked up some of the wines served on our 2007 cruise and they were 4-5x the cost of the wines poured on a 2008 SeaDream or 2010 Celebrity Xpedition cruise.

 

One funny thing, on the SeaDream cruise the waiters were constantly dribbling red wine on the table and on the pax. They never did learn to pour without dripping :eek: I finally started moving my glass far away from me when they came around to refill...

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Glad to hear good reports lately about the Regent wine. We've had mostly pretty good experiences in the past, although variable.

 

As a warmup to our cruise, we just had dinner out, osso bucco, mushroom risotto and rapini with an amazing Barolo - Michele Chiarlo Tortoniano 2004. If the wine on our cruise in any way resembles this, I would be ecstatic. Of course, we won't have a great jazz duo playing for us at dinner. All steps from where we live.

[nanook21]

Although wine is subjective, we usually find the wine on Regent to be fine. As long as the ship makes great chocolate martini's, I'm a happy camper.

 

They make chocolate martinis? Now you've got my attention!:D That might be the only thing to make me stray from my standard Chardonnay.

[Travelcat2]

They make chocolate martinis? Now you've got my attention!:D That might be the only thing to make me stray from my standard Chardonnay.

 

Chocolate martini's are my "cruise addiction".......I only drink them on board a ship and on my birthday. They make a great dessert and may be a bit lower in calories than chocolate cake:D

[kvisf]

On the Navigator last April we found the complimentary wines to be better than just acceptable. I recognized some of the California, Washington and Oregon wines and would guess they retail in the San Francisco area where we live in the $15-$25 price range. Unless you have shipboard credits to burn or something special to celebrate there's no need to order off the reserve list and there is sure to be something you really like on the complimentary list.

[wripro]

Wendy,

 

I seriously doubt you will find a Barolo on the complimentary wine list.

[nanook21]

Well, I don't even buy $25 bottles of wine at home, so I'm sure we'll be quite happy with whatever is offered on Regent's wine list.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wendy,

 

I seriously doubt you will find a Barolo on the complimentary wine list.

 

Yeh, I know, it was a real treat. I hardly drink wine anymore at all, so when I do it's a real treat. But even now I an usually content with cheap Argentinian plonk. Although you never know, if I have some of my OBC left over, I could imagine finding something nice on the reserve list one night.

[cruzndiz]

They make chocolate martinis? Now you've got my attention!:D That might be the only thing to make me stray from my standard Chardonnay.

 

Susan: they make practically ANY drink you ask for. :D I had John at the pool bar blending me up all kinds of frozen concoctions during the day and at night, poor Mijai in Stars Lounge was using my "recipes" to put together some interesting drinks and shots:p

[Travelcat2]

Susan: they make practically ANY drink you ask for. :D I had John at the pool bar blending me up all kinds of frozen concoctions during the day and at night, poor Mijai in Stars Lounge was using my "recipes" to put together some interesting drinks and shots:p

 

My DH will be interested in your recipes when we're on the Mariner. He is always looking for new concoctions.

[wripro]

Wendy,

 

That's how I always use any leftover OBC.

[cruzndiz]

My DH will be interested in your recipes when we're on the Mariner. He is always looking for new concoctions.

 

uh oh....a fellow experimenter!! :D

[gillianrose]

:) Good pun :)

 

Thank you. :)

 

There's more where that came from in the Floataway Lounge! Come on over and join us!

[grapejuice]

Have only cruised Regent ( 3 times Navigator) and the wines have been great every time. And may I say they have all been Aussie varieties and truely delicious. I may be biased but wines Regent select are top range.
A basic red wine that Regent serves at dinner, if it is an Aussie red for example retails for between 25 - 40 AUD) Maybe that is why they serve up Australian and NZ wines - great value and taste.
By the way I don't own a vineyard downunder - but would love to one day!!!

[Travelcat2]

[quote name='grapejuice']Have only cruised Regent ( 3 times Navigator) and the wines have been great every time. And may I say they have all been Aussie varieties and truely delicious. I may be biased but wines Regent select are top range.
A basic red wine that Regent serves at dinner, if it is an Aussie red for example retails for between 25 - 40 AUD) Maybe that is why they serve up Australian and NZ wines - great value and taste.
By the way I don't own a vineyard downunder - but would love to one day!!![/quote]

With the name "grapejuice", perhaps you should own a vineyard (with that name):D

[grapejuice]

TC 2, I agree totally. I might just plant a special chocolate martini vine just for you. By the way am looking forward to your posting of your soon to be sailing on Silverseas. Cheers

[brucecar]

Ive read many interesting comments about the included wine choices, and various opinions (mostly favorable), but since wine happiness (made that up) is quite subjective, I was really hoping to find some mention of specific wines ... then I can match that with what I like / dont like.

1 poster talked about Santa Marg Pinot Grigio, which is a great benchmark for me .. and someone else mentioned Aussie Shiraz (huge range but still that's helpful). Any "name" brands like Calif Cabs ? Can you expect to find decent Burgundies or Cote du Rhone ? Just trying to get a general sense of the selection.

The all-inclusive pricing is really a great deal, if you actually enjoy what's provided. Thanks !!

[room010]

We just got back off the Voyager and have no complaints about the wine. We're not experts by any means but we know what we like and they had plenty to choose from. To avoid bankruptcy naturally we tend to stick to Aussie/NZ wines but I admit it was very nice to be able to have a good French sancerre or burgundy and not worry about a horrendous bill afterwards!

[shemansl]

We are wine snobs (aka "cork dorks") and have always found a few wines on the list that are more than acceptable. You may need to search around a bit to find wines to your liking, but there's something for everyone. On one sailing last year they were freely pouring Arrowood Cab which sells for about $40 a bottle. We have also found some gems like Kaiken (Argentina) Cabernet and we now buy that at home.

I have brought high-end wines from my cellar (Grange Hermitage) and the Sommolier has always decanted them expertly. I want to know where a fellow poster is getting Screaming Eagle for $30 a bottle!!

[Tyler919]

After boarding Mariner last December in Cape Town and looking forward to some nice local wines, we asked at lunch if they had a Pinotage (fairly well known SA wine) and were surprised there was none in La Veranda. We asked again at dinner in CR, but only local Cabernets were available as reds. Now, Pinotage does not have a huge following, but its a decent red and represents South Africa well in the world, so I was a bit surprised, but certainly had no problem with what was already aboard (Had my eye on a lovely Crozes Hermitage on the "included" list).
The next morning, still docked, we watched the final loading of supplies and noticed a small pick up truck pull up with 2 cases of wine. You guessed it. Not only had they listened to our request, the wine they brought on was the Number 100 wine on the latest Wine Spectator Top 100 list. We drank 8 of those bottles on the crossing, and I purchased two cases of for my cellar on my return home as a great memory.

We have learned over and over again, you are only limited on Regent by what you can think to ask for.

[OrpingtonT]

[quote name='Tyler919']After boarding Mariner last December in Cape Town and looking forward to some nice local wines, we asked at lunch if they had a Pinotage (fairly well known SA wine) and were surprised there was none in La Veranda. We asked again at dinner in CR, but only local Cabernets were available as reds. Now, Pinotage does not have a huge following, but its a decent red and represents South Africa well in the world, so I was a bit surprised, but certainly had no problem with what was already aboard (Had my eye on a lovely Crozes Hermitage on the "included" list).
The next morning, still docked, we watched the final loading of supplies and noticed a small pick up truck pull up with 2 cases of wine. You guessed it. Not only had they listened to our request, the wine they brought on was the Number 100 wine on the latest Wine Spectator Top 100 list. We drank 8 of those bottles on the crossing, and I purchased two cases of for my cellar on my return home as a great memory.

We have learned over and over again, you are only limited on Regent by what you can think to ask for.[/quote]

Thank you for that very interesting story.

[Viennagirl]

One of the concerns I had re Regent All Inclusive is the quality of what was included. On our first Regent cruise, I was knocked out - not expecting the level of quality at all. I melt for a buttery lightly oaked Chard, something hard to find and terribly pricey in Vienna. A little Cognac before bed? I'm content with Remy VSOP. And when the offered pour was Champagne, not prosecco, sekt, vin petillant or a sparkler, well, I was completely sold. OK, so Bouvet isn't Krug, but put me in coach. I don't smoke and I'm ready to play!

[purpleally]

[quote name='Travelcat2']I'm learning more about wines on Silversea here than on the SS board:) Will have to pay attention to wines on our Spirit cruise leaving in less than two weeks (in addition to checking out what it's like to be on a ship where smoking is allowed in suites and balconies). Although wine is subjective, we usually find the wine on Regent to be fine. As long as the ship makes great chocolate martini's, I'm a happy camper.[/quote]
Elvis made the BEST chocolate martini for me on navigator.
We were talking to him in the dining room and he told us he was the bartender for the casino. Awesome! I had to have two more just to make sure!