Wine list

[nic2121]

4 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

Are you being facetious?  Even in the US, organic wine is a niche market, and natural wine (whose definition varies and is up to much debate) is a micro-niche market.  I manage to find decent natural and organic wines in small local fancy neighborhood wine stores, but they are impossible or extremely hard to find in big box stores such as BevMo and supermarkets in San Francisco, let alone the rest of the US.  I doubt anybody would have much luck in smaller ports in far flung corners of the world.

No I am not. Natural wines are no longer micro-niche. They can be found anywhere in the world in developed countries (except UAE and Saoudi Arabia maybe.) They're not more expensive than fancy wines sold onboard Seaborn ships based on what I have been reading here. Seaborn should be able to have a better and more appealing offering to wine lovers, I am sure of it. If you doubt what I just wrote, just download the app RAISIN, it's a great way to discover the best wine shops and best restaurants near you. 🙂 

[sfvoyage]

9 minutes ago, nic2121 said:

No I am not. Natural wines are no longer micro-niche. They can be found anywhere in the world in developed countries (except UAE and Saoudi Arabia maybe.) They're not more expensive than fancy wines sold onboard Seaborn ships based on what I have been reading here. Seaborn should be able to have a better and more appealing offering to wine lovers, I am sure of it. If you doubt what I just wrote, just download the app RAISIN, it's a great way to discover the best wine shops and best restaurants near you. 🙂 

 

Well, I can tell you that natural wines are a micro-niche in San Francisco and non-existent on Seabourn.  None of the sommeliers on board will have much if any knowledge in this arena.  If you want to drink your favorite natural wines, BYO or try to special request them in advance.

 

And BTW, all the natural wines I've seen in my local wine stores are in a price range that is higher than the complimentary wines offered on Seabourn.

Edited May 22, 2023 by sfvoyage

[nic2121]

2 minutes ago, sfvoyage said:

 

Well, I can tell you that natural wines are a micro-niche in San Francisco and non-existent on Seabourn.  None of the sommeliers on board will have much if any knowledge in this arena.  If you want to drink your favorite natural wines, BYO or try to special request them in advance.

 

And BTW, all the natural wines I've seen in my local wine stores are in a price range that is higher than the complimentary wines offered on Seabourn.

Thanks for replying! Well, while I am not expecting to see so much effort for the complementary wine list I would have been happy to pay to drink the wines I love but I found the revenue list not only overpriced, but mostly not interesting at all! I'll write to them see if there is a way to connect with their team, I am sure my comments can be constructive when the whole wine world and wine lovers are definitely shifting from Parker to better.

 

You live in SF, have you tried ant of the following places:

 

A16

Lord Stanley

SPQR

Del Popolo

Angie's Pizza

Shuggie's Pizza

Nopa

Rich Table

Mijoté 

Lolo

Eleven

Chez Panisse 

Ramen Shop

Daytrip

Starline Social Club

Woods Outbound

Moongate Lunge

Ruby Wine Merchant

Blondivino

Ordinaire

 

See, natural wines are really no longer so niche anymore. And once you've love one natural wine, it's very difficult to go back to heavy style reds for example. It's really a way of drinking that opens up lots of room for taste appreciation, cuisine creativity and non typical foody experiences. A whole new world really, hence my post here because I believe that if I am able to find at least 20 restaurants in SF that offer their cuisine paired with simple or complex natural wines, then luxury cruise companies can easily do so too!

 

Sorry for my English, I've taken the liberty to not read myself twice and speak freely. I'm French btw. 

 

Cheers!

 

Nicolas

[sfvoyage]

8 minutes ago, nic2121 said:

Thanks for replying! Well, while I am not expecting to see so much effort for the complementary wine list I would have been happy to pay to drink the wines I love but I found the revenue list not only overpriced, but mostly not interesting at all! I'll write to them see if there is a way to connect with their team, I am sure my comments can be constructive when the whole wine world and wine lovers are definitely shifting from Parker to better.

 

You live in SF, have you tried ant of the following places:

 

A16

Lord Stanley

SPQR

Del Popolo

Angie's Pizza

Shuggie's Pizza

Nopa

Rich Table

Mijoté 

Lolo

Eleven

Chez Panisse 

Ramen Shop

Daytrip

Starline Social Club

Woods Outbound

Moongate Lunge

Ruby Wine Merchant

Blondivino

Ordinaire

 

See, natural wines are really no longer so niche anymore. And once you've love one natural wine, it's very difficult to go back to heavy style reds for example. It's really a way of drinking that opens up lots of room for taste appreciation, cuisine creativity and non typical foody experiences. A whole new world really, hence my post here because I believe that if I am able to find at least 20 restaurants in SF that offer their cuisine paired with simple or complex natural wines, then luxury cruise companies can easily do so too!

 

Sorry for my English, I've taken the liberty to not read myself twice and speak freely. I'm French btw. 

 

Cheers!

 

Nicolas

 

I doubt you will find natural wine happiness on Seabourn or any cruise line any time soon.  I have been pestering Seabourn for non-alcoholic cocktails for over 5 years and was told the new program may finally be rolling out by year-end.  On verra.

 

Désolé de vous décourager... mais bonne chance ou plutôt bon courage! 

[Tallante]

11 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

What's the year as the blend can vary.

It's three grape varieties.

The Gavi also could be drinkable.

 

7 hours ago, nic2121 said:

I agree and I hope their staff reads us! 

If they work with som' they should offer multiple wines from smaller wineries, not necessarily more expensive than big names but more interesting and yummier. I could help if they reach out to me!

The Hanes Sabathi also slipped down very well with Sushi lunchtime.

[texanaust]

17 hours ago, Tallante said:

Current wine list on the Encore I received today.  I believe the highlighted ones are currently not available.

A very limited list especially if the bolded are out of stock. 

 

As for 'natural' wines, they certainly will not be on the complimentary list.  Your only hope is to befriend the F&B manager and ask him to purchase you some at one of the ports on your itinerary.  

[lincslady]

No  NZ  sauv.bl. and no Cotes  du Rhone is bad news.

[nancygp]

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

No  NZ  sauv.bl. and no Cotes  du Rhone is bad news.

No California wines…the encore list is significantly different from the ovation list from my sailing last month

 

Nancy

[Vineyard View]

We are in Venice this week. Boarding Quest on Saturday. We purchased 4 nice bottles from a great little wine shop yesterday. After seeing these updates, we may need to wander back to pick up a couple more to bring on board. The problem of course is space for carrying more.  With the transfers being done in Venice via bus -! and No getting back off the ship in Fusina to purchase more.

Croatia is upcoming, however their strong suit from what I am reading is more white than bigger reds. Oh well. It will all work out. 
 

Regarding natural and organic wines. I live in a fairly lovely wine region. While there are some of these to be had, most wineries in our refion are not marketing these nuances as much as  growing, and producing sustainable practices from ground to bottle. For us, most of the wineries do the right thing for the most part, so our focus is the actual flavor profile. What works for us, which is not to say it will work for all. 
These wine lists are not what we would consider fine wines. 

[pyffii]

Just boarded Sojourn and the only included wines are South African and they are not very good so I’m extremely disappointed as you can buy quality and I mean quality Australian reds and whites for under $20.00 so perplexed with what Seabourn must be thinking or not

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, pyffii said:

Just boarded Sojourn and the only included wines are South African and they are not very good so I’m extremely disappointed as you can buy quality and I mean quality Australian reds and whites for under $20.00 so perplexed with what Seabourn must be thinking or not

ALL the included wines are South African?  That's unusual...

[pyffii]

[Mr Luxury]

9 hours ago, SLSD said:

ALL the included wines are South African?  That's unusual...

That is because the World cruisers have drunk everything else and the ship has not yet stocked up on other wines.

One would have thought that a supply would have come on in Barcelona but I guess Seabourn will re stock at another port.

[pyffii]

The complimentary wines on Sojourn are so so bad it’s not acceptable…..chatted to the Captain about this and he said write a letter which I’ve done but do not expect any reply or resolution….price point of the wines is circa $10 for a 6 star cruise line is just beyond a joke when everything else onboard  is just perfect 

[jondfk]

2 minutes ago, pyffii said:

The complimentary wines on Sojourn are so so bad it’s not acceptable…..chatted to the Captain about this and he said write a letter which I’ve done but do not expect any reply or resolution….price point of the wines is circa $10 for a 6 star cruise line is just beyond a joke when everything else onboard  is just perfect 

 

We board (Ovation) in two weeks and very much hope the situation is somewhat better than described on Sojourn.  We (meaning I) don't need especially fine wine, but some regional variety and something in keeping with the character of the luxury promise is appropriate.  It would be short sighted indeed to drive me to the harder part of the bar menu for satisfaction, I'm fully capable of enjoying a good scotch, bourbon or vodka in place of wine, which will undoubtedly cost SB more.  

 

It's amazing how shortsighted the decision making can become particularly when only one type of beans are being counted.  

 

[SLSD]

13 minutes ago, jondfk said:

 

We board (Ovation) in two weeks and very much hope the situation is somewhat better than described on Sojourn.  We (meaning I) don't need especially fine wine, but some regional variety and something in keeping with the character of the luxury promise is appropriate.  It would be short sighted indeed to drive me to the harder part of the bar menu for satisfaction, I'm fully capable of enjoying a good scotch, bourbon or vodka in place of wine, which will undoubtedly cost SB more.  

 

It's amazing how shortsighted the decision making can become particularly when only one type of beans are being counted.  

 

We'll be there with you on the same cruise and do hope for something palatable.  We are not very picky, but want something decent.  I have liked the Clarandelle in the past--and hope it is onboard.  

[saminina]

3 hours ago, pyffii said:

The complimentary wines on Sojourn are so so bad it’s not acceptable…..chatted to the Captain about this and he said write a letter which I’ve done but do not expect any reply or resolution….price point of the wines is circa $10 for a 6 star cruise line is just beyond a joke when everything else onboard  is just perfect 

A six star cruise line?    They do not claim to be, do they?   They are guilty of advertising as ultra luxury,

 

Suggest you direct your wine comments to the F&B manager.   He can do something.  Well, that's probably unlikely today, but talking about wine supply to the captain is just plain taking the wrong avenue.

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, pyffii said:

The complimentary wines on Sojourn are so so bad it’s not acceptable…..chatted to the Captain about this and he said write a letter which I’ve done but do not expect any reply or resolution….price point of the wines is circa $10 for a 6 star cruise line is just beyond a joke when everything else onboard  is just perfect 

That's why I have always bought wine from the revenue list.

it's a no brainer for me.

[cruiseej]

5 hours ago, pyffii said:

The complimentary wines on Sojourn are so so bad it’s not acceptable

 

On 5/27/2023 at 9:39 PM, pyffii said:

Just boarded Sojourn and the only included wines are South African

 

Hmmm, we've had wines from New Zealand, white and red, since boarding Sojourn on Saturday. Oyster Bay, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, has been a pretty steady presence on Seabourn ships for some time, and there's certainly some on Sojourn right now. (I'm not saying that's a great wine; just that there are other alternative to South African wines and the list shown above.) Tonight with diner I drank Nine Hats Cabernet, a US (Washington) wine.

[frantic36]

56 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

Nine Hats Cabernet, a US (Washington) wine.

Nine Hats was the red I usually drank on Quest if having an included wine and it was quite palatable. The other standard for white apart from Oyster Bay was a Louis Latour which has been available on Seabourn for years. Hopefully it is available on Sojourn somewhere.

[nic2121]

21 hours ago, pyffii said:

The complimentary wines on Sojourn are so so bad it’s not acceptable…..chatted to the Captain about this and he said write a letter which I’ve done but do not expect any reply or resolution….price point of the wines is circa $10 for a 6 star cruise line is just beyond a joke when everything else onboard  is just perfect 

That's good to know. I hope they read us.

[pyffii]

Ok to be fair the Sommelier found us some Tyrells Margret River Beside Broke Road Cabernet Sauvignon that was indeed very pleasant so we are now happy campers or should I say happy drinkers🤗

Edited May 30, 2023 by pyffii

[Genoabay]

The complimentary wines on Seabourn Odyssey are uninspiring, IMHO—a mix of New Zealand, Austria, Spain, France, and some Californians. The Californians are the best in my experience. In particular, they are lacking in any credible reds. Others may be having a different experience.