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Wine Tasting Made Easy

By:: Jennie Hess

With progressive wine lists and a variety of choices, the Fun Ships make it easy to appreciate fine wine with your mealsat sea and at home

If theres one cardinal rule when it comes to pairing wine with your meals on a Fun Ship cruise, its this: Drink what you like, says Paul Shea, Carnivals director of bar operations. Its best to begin by experimenting with wines that have similar characteristics to those youre already comfortable with.

Carnivals progressive wine list makes choosing a wine to go with your dinner simple. The list groups wines by categories such as full-bodied reds and full-bodied dry whites. If your taste buds crave a slightly sweet wine, you have several choices, including California Zinfandels, Washington Rieslings and similar wines from Germany and France. If a full-bodied red is your favorite with a juicy filet mignon, the lists choices range from a classic California Cabernet Sauvignon to a trendy Australian Shiraz. Each Fun Ship restaurant offers more than 32 wines by the glass and many more by the bottle.

For the record, feel free to enjoy a glass of white wine with your steak. In fact, your Carnival cruise wine list includes several bold, fuller-bodied white wines, including some popular Napa Valley Chardonnays, that work well with red meat.

Wine Information at a Glance

Wine-Tasting Terminology

Dry? Full-bodied? Crisp? If you havent ventured far into wine-tasting territory, dont worry. Read on for a crash course in wine-tasting confidence that explains these and other terms.

Bodytells you whether the wine feels full or light in your mouth.

Bouquet,or aroma, refers to the way the wine smells. Typically, older wines have a bouquet; younger wines have an aroma.

Crisp denotes brisk acidity, desirable in white wines. Soft means lower acidity, a smoother taste and a fruity, mellow wine.

Dry tells you the wine isnt sweet.

Finish is the wines final flavor and texture after youve swallowed.

Fruity refers to a wine with fruit aromas and flavors but doesnt denote sweetness.

Oaky describes the toasty, vanilla aroma or flavor of a wine aged in oak barrels.

To Swirl or Not to Swirl

Swirling, sniffing and swishing all go hand in hand with sipping your wine, so follow these simple tips for wine-tasting enjoyment:

Hold your glass by the stem. If you cradle the bowl, the wines temperature and taste could change.
Examine the wines color and clarity to enjoy the color and the moment.
Swirl the wine to see if it has legs or tearsnarrow rivulets that cling to the sides of the glass. Slower-moving legs indicate a wine thats rich and full-bodied.
Stick your nose in the glass and inhale deeply to understand the wines traits. Typical aromas include fruits, herbs, chocolate and even grass and tobacco.
Take a sip, then move the wine around in your mouth for up to 10 seconds before swallowing and exhaling slowly. If you sip too quickly, youll miss the complex sensations of a good wine.

Try Something New

Carnivals restaurant wine list includes wines from five continents and identifies the growing region in which each wine is produced. This information can help you understand the locations where a particular grape is best nurtured. Even if you havent spent a lot of time learning about wines and their regions of origin, you can get a lot out of tasting a new wine.

Dont be intimidated by a new wine; just enjoy it, Shea says. At the end of the day, its all about sharing a passion for the grape.

To further develop that passion, it helps to keep track of your favorite wines when you discover them, says Carnival president and CEO Bob Dickinson, a connoisseur whose own wine cellar contains about 20,000 bottles.

If youre out to dinner and enjoying a good wine, ask to see the label, Dickinson says. Have a small notebook and pencil handy to write down the name of the wine and the grape so you can find it again.

Grape Expectations on Board

Fine wines are served in the main restaurants on all Fun Ships, but now most Carnival ships also feature expanded wine menus and wine bars, where guests can choose from more than 30 wine offerings. And wine lovers can enjoy a third element of Carnivals evolving wine program in the Supper Clubs featured on eight ships. Here, entres such as prime steak, lobster tail and whole Dover sole can be paired with select, limited-availability wines.

No matter how great your wine-tasting expectations, they will be surpassed by the onboard experience. We want to be everything to everybody when it comes to wine, Paul Shea says. Many of our guests are wine savvy, and those who arent are bound to be intrigued and become more involved in the wine because of our offerings.

Savor New Wines at Sea and at Home

If youd like to explore the world of wine with Bob Dickinson, join Carnivals first Presidential Wine Club Cruise on December 4 aboard the new Carnival Liberty. The ship will sail the Western Caribbean for six days, and guests will enjoy special food-and-wine-tasting events throughout the journey. Members of the Wine Club will be invited to exclusive events during the wine cruise. Call 1-866-299-5862 or see your travel professional to book this special cruise. Be sure to mention promotion code CPWC (or CPW2 for Wine Club members).

Joining the Presidential Wine Club gives past guests an opportunity to sample some of Dickinsons favorite wines and to shop for wine bargains at the clubs online store. Membership is $39.99 per month, plus shipping, and includes two bottles of Dickinson-recommended wine, delivered to your door every month. To learn more about the Presidential Wine Club, visit presidentialwineclub.com, or call 1-888-292-2582.