Wine Tasting, Tour The Wine Cellars with Princess Cruises New!

Phil's blog on Princess Cruises - Living The Easy Life

The one thing that has always impressed be about Cruise Holidays is the standard of food and wine onboard the ships and in this blog I want to draw attention to one particular cruise line that is now focusing on the opportunity for those who are interested - to learn more about wines, how they get to the bottle and what to look out for.

Travel, good company, food and wine... these are some of the best things in life. Get their combination right and you have the key to a magical holiday.

Food and wine are the soul of many places. The thing is...you don't have to be a food expert or wine buff to enjoy them either. All you need is the appetite for tastes and the appreciation of good surroundings - something that Princess Cruises do extremely well.

Think of a summer afternoon in the Tuscan countryside; a good Chianti holds that same flowery warmth. Cadiz's intense sun and clear seas reflect in its spicy tapas and chilled Manzanilla sherry. These are just two of the Mediterranean's wine hot spots that you will have the opportunity to visit on a Princess Mediterranean cruise in 2010.

If you do not like flying, I recommend Princess Cruises Grand Princess in 2010 which will allow the opportunity to visit places such as the tiny (relatively unknown) French wine territory of Bellet, around Nice. Yet others like Chianti and Cava are world famous - but how much do we really know about them? Well now you can find out when you take a Princess Cruise in 2010.

Here are some of the topics for discussion and discovery onboard. Let me take you on a journey around the Mediterranean with Princess Cruises.

Fashionable Drinks

Another fortified wine has been rediscovered in Britain as a fashionable drink, Dry, chilled sherry is superb with olives, dry-cured ham and other snacks. In Andalusia, they've know this for centuries: it's the traditional partner for tapas in bars from Jerez to Cadiz. From Seville - if you can tear yourself away from this vibrant city - Princess offer fascinating excursions to bodegas where you can discover the sherry-blender's craft and taste varieries from bone-dry fino to the richest oloroso.

Tour the Wine Cellars

Cruise on to Barcelona, and you enter the heart of Cava country. Around 90 per cent of this delicious sparkling wine comes from Sant Sadurni d'Anoia lees than 30 miles away. At many Cava wineries, you can book a tour of the cellars and demonstration of the classic champagne method used. Among the best are Cordoniu, whose modernist building is now a national monument, and Freixenet (which is included in Princess Cruises organised excursions). Make a note...the latter is worth a trip just to see its vast cellars - 200 million bottles a year are produced here.

Combine Winte Tasting with Sightseeing

In Italy, as everyone knows, food and wine are matters of passion and pride. Tuscany is one of Europe's oldest and best loved wine regions; its grape varieties include Canaiolo nero, which is over 2,000 years old - and still used in Chianti wine.

Scores of wineries scatter the countryside, easily reached from Livorno by car. Organised excursions are another option, with the bonus of combining a winery visit and tastings with some sightseeing: perfect if you have never seen Pisa, for example, or the medieval-Manhattan skyline of San Gimignano's towers.

Sample the Wines in Naples

Don't just stick to what you know - every district has its own specialities. In Naples, be sure to try the Campania wines produced just outside town in the Irpinia hills: powerful reds such as Taurasi and complex whites like Fiano di Avellino. Both these are old-school styles, better for a few years' ageing.

I can't think of a better excuse for buying a few bottles to take home?

And on that note...since all the Grand Princess cruises in 2010 are from Southampton - there is no excess baggage to think about and the worry of them breaking as they travel through the airport luggage systems..!!

So my advice is, toast the easy life..!!

Take a Princess Cruises holiday in 2010 from Southampton onboard the beautiful Grand Princess and take advantage of some great deals at The Cruise Village or visit our New! Princess Deals website which is dedicated to Princess Cruises.

Call my team at Blackpool on  01253 341014. They are all Princess Cruises experts and akthough a large company with over 45years of trading, we are still very much a 3rd generation family business. If you quote this blog, my team will give you an extra saving off any Grand Princess cruise from Southampton in 2010.

This is a cruise blog entry by Phil