James Suckling’s Guide to Great Wines

[colonialinnkeeper]

Thanks for the topic and posting.  For us, it is disappointing...

[MeandtheSea]

1 hour ago, taxmantoo said:

It is a well known fact in the wine world that James Suckling is a notorious over-rater when it comes to rating wines.  His scores are consistently 5 to 6 points above those of other wine writers and judges.

Thanks.  I’m sure they viewed the partnership with/James Sucking branding as a business opp to increase beverage revenue.  I agree. I know some of his suggested wines.  Many are good wines, but not as good as their price tags warrant.

[Ryten]

Thank you for updated wine list. Was there any indication which wines were included in the various wine packages available?

[RetiredMustang]

48 minutes ago, Ryten said:

Thank you for updated wine list. Was there any indication which wines were included in the various wine packages available?

 

Yes.  Here is the brochure for the packages:

 

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, RetiredMustang said:

 

Yes.  Here is the brochure for the packages:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what was presented to me in July on the Westerdam.  If you like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the Drylands is decent.  (I prefer Villa Maria.)

[Loreto]

Thank you for posting the wine recommendations!  Being from California I prefer to try wine from other countries rather than California wines.  Exception would be Wente Vineyards from Livermore.  HAL no longer offers Wente.  I lived in Germany for 3 years and would love to see a German wine on the packages.

Karen

[slidergirl]

5 hours ago, Loreto said:

Thank you for posting the wine recommendations!  Being from California I prefer to try wine from other countries rather than California wines.  Exception would be Wente Vineyards from Livermore.  HAL no longer offers Wente.  I lived in Germany for 3 years and would love to see a German wine on the packages.

Karen

the closest I saw would be the Chateau St. Michelle/Dr Loosen Eroica Riesling.  Made in Washington State, but in collaboration with Dr Loosen, an outstanding Mosel area Riesling producer.  that one isn't on the wine packages, but on Suckling's list.  On the wine packages, the only one that hit me was the Meomi Pinot Noir.  It's a decent Pinot - St. Regis used this as their house Pinot for a few years.  I've grabbed a bottle or two of this one when I was going to a dinner with a group of friends.  

[c-boy]

On 9/3/2019 at 5:45 PM, Loreto said:

Thank you for posting the wine recommendations!  Being from California I prefer to try wine from other countries rather than California wines.  Exception would be Wente Vineyards from Livermore.  HAL no longer offers Wente.  I lived in Germany for 3 years and would love to see a German wine on the packages.

Karen

^ this,  

[Caymus88]

Is this list available on the Nieuw Amsterdam?

[taxmantoo]

2 hours ago, Caymus88 said:

Is this list available on the Nieuw Amsterdam?

The same list is available on all HAL ships.

[JimnKaren]

Lots of discussion about this in our house. At the end of October, we board Amsterdam for 51-day Tales of the South Pacific. We are 4-star, so we get discounts on the packages and those are good prices. However, on a long cruise as what we'll be on, we are going to bring a case on with us. I'll pay the corkage and drink them in places other than the MDR. I am just not sure whether one case, plus a package, plus our two free carry-ons will be enough. Maybe two cases!!

 

Jim

[slidergirl]

1 hour ago, JimnKaren said:

Lots of discussion about this in our house. At the end of October, we board Amsterdam for 51-day Tales of the South Pacific. We are 4-star, so we get discounts on the packages and those are good prices. However, on a long cruise as what we'll be on, we are going to bring a case on with us. I'll pay the corkage and drink them in places other than the MDR. I am just not sure whether one case, plus a package, plus our two free carry-ons will be enough. Maybe two cases!!

 

Jim

See if anyone has visited any of these ports and can comment on available wines onshore.  You might be able to augment your bring-aboard stash with some beauties from France, Australia, New Zealand...  Ugh - 51 days with only HAL wines - that would be harsh!!!  Good idea to bring as much as you can!!!

[oakridger]

On 9/8/2019 at 9:53 AM, JimnKaren said:

 I'll pay the corkage and drink them in places other than the MDR. 

Jim

 

Hi Jim.  If you pay the corkage you can drink them in the MDR or anywhere on the ship you would like.

Sounds like a great trip!

~Nancy

 

[teacherman]

We just like a nice mild wine with our meals.  We bought Cellar 1 (3 times).  We drank the Estancia Pinot Noir and the Dreaming Tree Chardonnay.  Enjoyed them and it was "good enough" for us.

[Hlitner]

New wine lists are fun to read :).  But the issue on many of our HAL cruises is that the ship often does not have (in stock) many of the wines on their list :(.  Assuming that HAL is still giving 4-5* Mariners a 50% discount on the wine packages, some of the listed wines would be excellent buys.   With the discount some of the Cellar 3 wines are being sold at close to retail prices which is pretty terrific for any cruise line.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

On 9/1/2019 at 7:40 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

An excellent steakhouse in my community always has the Grgich Hills Chardonnay on their list and it is very over priced.  The restaurant's owner likes the wine and disagrees with my assessment of the wine.  

 

Your comment about whether the wine is oaked vs un-oaked has drawn very puzzled looks with ignorant responses from several wine stewards when I have asked.  One area of dining service in which Princess excels as compared to HAL of today is the ready availability of a Head Waiter for one's dining section who seems to know wine.

Asking a wine steward about oaked vs unoaked is like asking a school teacher about the alphabet.  If a wine steward does not understand this most basic wine question they are a "steward" in name only.....(and giving a very bad name to the term).  Speaking of Princess we are just off 16 days on the Caribbean Princess where even our waiters had pretty decent knowledge of the wine list.  But like on HAL, many of the wines on the list were just on the list...and not on the ship!

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Asking a wine steward about oaked vs unoaked is like asking a school teacher about the alphabet.  If a wine steward does not understand this most basic wine question they are a "steward" in name only.....(and giving a very bad name to the term).  

 

As a retired educator, your initial sentence caused me to laugh.  Your second sentence confirms my belief that HAL's "wine stewards" of today are an extremely pale reflection of what wine service was in the past on HAL ships.

 

I wish I remembered the Filipino gentleman's last name, but his first name was Roy.  He was my Wine Steward on my 2008 World Cruise.  (I know that he served for some time afterwards.)  He knew his wines!  His service was exemplary!  Even when one of my table mates thought he knew more about wine than Roy did.