All cruise lines offer wine tasting seminars, but did you
know that if you cruise aboard Holland America’s new Koningsdam, guests are
given the opportunity to become winemakers! That’s right, you can blend your
own wine at the only purpose-built wine-blending venue at sea!
Koningsdam will feature a new venue called BLEND – an
intimate wine tasting setting that will host up to 10 guests at a time. The
program will operate in collaboration with Chateau Ste. Michelle, the oldest
winery in Washington State. The ship’s wine expert will lead participants in a
blending session to create their own blend of red wine from a selection of five
single-vineyard Chateau St. Michelle wines.
The experience begins with viewing a welcome video by Bob
Bertheau, Chateau Ste. Michelle’s winemaker. The group will learn about the
history of Washington wines and winemaking, discover how different vineyard
sites influence the flavors and style of wine.
Next, participants taste five unique wines while learning what flavors and nuances to expect in each. It’s
helpful for guests to jot down notes on the characteristics they like about
each wine. Then, using a graduated cylinder to see how much of each different
wine they are using, they can mix a certain amount of the wines they like
together, creating a one-of-a-kind blend tailored to their personal taste. If only my college Chemistry class was half as much fun…
Lastly, everyone finishes up by bottling their custom wine
blend and creating their own label. The finished creation will be delivered to
the dining room or other shipboard restaurant for the guest to enjoy with
dinner.
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