Our fabulous cruise to Italy, Greece and Turkey is off to a roaring start! Scott and Bobbi Stelzle of Venteux Vineyards and Sherman and Michelle Thacher of Thacher Winery poured their delicious Paso Robles wines at the welcome aboard reception for our group. The first Wine Festival at Sea in 2013 debarked from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. This cruise sold out, so we had nearly 90 people at the wine tasting, held in the SkyLounge on the magnificent Celebrity Reflection. Floor to ceiling windows provided panoramic vistas of the blue Mediterranean.
Scott and Bobbi poured the Venteux 2009 Grenache, 2010 "Raucous" (25% Cabernet, 25% Estate Syrah, 25% Grenache, 15% Zinfandel, 10% Carignan), and 2010 Estate Cuveé (50% Estate Syrah, 50% Estate Petit Sirah). Sherman and Michelle poured the Thacher 2011 Grenache Blanc, 2010 "Controlled Chaos" (47% Mourvédra, 41% Zinfandel, 11% Grenache), and 2010 Vin Rouge (71% Syrah, 29% Grenache) as we mingled and met some of our fellow cruise passengers. Lovely appetizers were passed out, included spring rolls and wontons.
The welcome reception and wine tasting was delightful, and if that wasn't enough, we had lovely gift bags embroidered with the Thacher, Venteux and Touring & Tasting logos, thanks to the wineries. They were filled with goodies, like visors, t-shirts, information on the wineries and the latest copy of Touring & Tasting Magazine. Plenty of room for all the souvenirs we'll find on our port excursions to Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul, Naples and Rome! Wine cruises
Thacher Winery and Vineyard's award winning winery and tasting room are situated next to a 90 year old barn with spectacular and ever changing vistas of vineyards, hay fields and oak trees. They have been hand-crafting wines from superb dry farmed and head trained vineyards found on the Westside of Paso Robles and in Southern Monterey County since 2004.
Venteux Vineyards' ten-acre estate is nestled in the renowned "windy" Templeton Gap in the heart of Paso Robles Wine Country. Known for hot dry days and cool damp nights this growing region is ideal for dry-farmed, head-trained vines, which produce our intensely bold and flavorful Rhone varietals. You can enjoy a stay at their Paso Robles Bed & Breakfast inn, perfectly located for wine country exploration.
At our Syrah Vertical Seminar, Venteux and Thacher Syrah went head-to-head for us to compare the effect aging has on the wine as well as sense the difference created from diverse vineyards and winemaker style. Thacher poured their 2010 Syrah Monterey (pre-release) from the Coast View Vineyard, and the 2009, 2008, and 2004 vintages of the same. Venteux their 2010 Tache Le Verre (pre-release) 2009 and 2008 Tache Le Verre and 2004 "Starr Ranch" Syrah. The 2010 were ready to drink, but one could see how the wine developed with time, with the 2004 vintages having a deep bouquet and smooth texture. The Syrah Vertical Seminar was in the Tuscan Grille, which will be the venue for the wine pairing luncheon later in the cruise. Though the photos could not capture the view, through the glass walls of the Celebrity ship, we had a moving "wallpaper" of blue ocean, blue sky and a thin blue line in the center marking the horizon. Enjoying great wine and interesting people is even better at sea!
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