Division of Specialty Cruise & Villas - A Virtuoso Agency
Join us on this exciting cruise from Lisbon to Amsterdam, calling at some of Europe's greatest wine and food destinations. On this cruise Jim and Brenda Bisciglia will be hosting you and presenting a themed wine program of Bordeaux and Rioja; Connections and Competition. During this cruise we will be comparing and contrasting the wines from these two classic wine producing regions. We will be holding 3 wine dinners on board, comparing, contrasting, and yes, rating the wines from these areas, as well as visiting famous chateaux in both Bordeaux and Rioja during our port calls in Bordeaux and Bilbao. We are adding a new twist to this cruise which we have never done before on our wine cruises. For those who would like to participate, we will ask you to rate the wines on a 100 point scale. Besides being very instructive in identifying our personal tastes, on this cruise, those who happen to rate these wines closest to the professional critics at Robert Parker and Wine Spectator will be able to have a couple of their favorite bottles from the trip delivered to their homes. These bottles go for around $300-$450 a piece retail, and will hopefully add a little competition to the events as well as, at least for the lucky winners, some tokens to remember the cruise by. All the bottles that we will be tasting rate at least 95 points by the critics, and the opportunity to taste 7 per dinner will be quite extraordinary.
The wine program includes the cruise on the beautiful Oceania Marina, 3 hosted wine dinners on board, and two shore programs; one each in Bordeaux and Rioja(from Bilbao).
An example of the wines to be tasted include the following:
2004 Artadi Vina El Pison 100 points by Robert Parker
2001 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Blanco 99 points by Robert Parker
2010 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rosado Gran Riserva 96 points by Robrt Parker
2016 Chateau Cos d'Estournel Rated 100 points by Robert Parker
2016 Chateau Pape Clement. Rated 100 points by Robert Parker
Available accommodation on this voyage starts at Veranda Staterooms for $5,349 per person, based on double occupancy and including round trip economy air fare and your OLife Amenity Choice, with an additional $995 per person to join our wine program. Please note, we find the Penthouse Suites onboard the Marina to be an exceptional value as they offer much more space for a reasonable additional cost. These start at $6999 per person. Oceania's premium suites are also still available on this sailing, so call today to snag one before they sell out! Contact us for more details or with any questions, and to reserve your spot on this fantastic voyage. Jim and Brenda are looking forward to leading you on this unforgettable wine journey!
For those that are interested, we will also be offering an optional 3 day pre cruise land program in Lisbon. Details to follow on this!
Be sure to contact us with any questions you may have, or for a detailed quote!