Avenue Vine

I went wine-spotting en route from Sorrento to Sicily in "the vintage room" of the Crystal Serenity, rated one of the best (and most luxurious) cruise ships in the world for the last ten years by Conde Naste Traveler. Around this elegant table, celebrity chefs like Anton Mosimann and celebrity winemakers like Christian Moueix of Chateau Petrus lead "ultimate vintage" tastings of the world's most iconic wines. An exclusive wine and food pairing afloat is a novel concept - with a price-tag of US$210 to $2,100 per head for an eight-course dinner for fourteen passengers. Put it on my tab.

Watching the Amalfi coast pass by, I realize this is one of the most unique settings for any interview I've ever conducted. Ben van der Meutter, the head sommelier shows me the legendary Mosimann menu - showcasing rare vintages of Krug Vintage Brut 1990, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling 1961, Angelo Gaja Barbaresco 1989, Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1959, Grange Hermitage 1986 and Graham's Port 1959 (my namesake's vintage predates me by two years). He recalls presenting these icon wines en route to Alexandria in October 2007 - at a dinner I had to cancel due to family commitments. Well, now I'm here at last - and in total awe of the cellar at sea.

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"We have a captive audience. We carry an inventory of up to 20,000 wines from around the world in our cellar at sea - including the reserve wines stored in protective cradles. We're one of the few cruise lines to carry a large inventory of up to 350 wine labels. We sell around 200 bottles per day - around 6,000 per month. Our mark-ups are lower than land-based wine-lists - priced from US$28 for our Sommelier's Selection (a house-wine) to $US3,400 for an older Chateau Margaux, Petrus or Latour." You can add a 15% obligatory gratuity - the sommelier makes a living on commission.

I was disappointed to spot a mere smidgeon of South African wine on the impressive global wine list in the main dining-room - Sauvignon Blanc from Buitenverwachting and Mulderbosch (no snitch at $US34) but no Cape reds in the new-world section?

The head sommelier comments, "It all depends on demand. We've served Meerlust and Kanonkop on our wine-list. I'm very fond of South African wines - and visited many Cape cellars. We find your top labels hard to source through US and European negociants - especially when it comes to sourcing allocations of up to 2,000 cases."

The multi-national company of one thousand passengers from thirty countries is a niche market afloat. A marketing man's dream consumer study group. Are the wine preferences of American, British and Australian passengers (the three biggest markets for Crystal Cruises) changing vis-à-vis consumer trends on old and new world wines?

The head sommelier comments, "Consumer patterns are definitely changing. We've seen wine consumption grow by 20%. If a sommelier gains the trust of American passengers, they will experiment beyond Californian wine. We used to sell ten bottles of Zinfandel Blush per sitting - now we sell one bottle per cruise. Passengers used to order "white" or "red". Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the king and queen of varieties - but they experiment more with average spend of US$40 on a bottle."

Getting a new listing on a cellar at sea takes time and patience. Once a year, the sommeliers and food and beverage heads of LA-based Crystal Cruises meet in the Napa Valley to discuss deleting and adding wine listings. Buyers deal directly with wine producers on limited allocations and larger volume wines. They source 15,000 cases of their own "C" house-wines in a joint venture between Crystal Cruises Vineyards and Montelena Winery in Monterey County and Napa Valley. The Crystal Serenity sources wine for four wine-lists - for the main dining-room, vintage room and for flagship on-board restaurants like Nobu's Silk Road and the Italian Prego.

After exploring Trieste, Venice or Pompeii by day, I explored the wine list via a wide selection of wines by the glass - served in Riedel wine glasses (breakage adds up to 150-200 glasses per cruise. Ouch!). I did the Mediterranean sideways en route from Sorrento to Sicily and Corfu to Croatia. Chardonnay from Napa, Pinot Noir from Oregon or Chateauneuf-du-Pap by the glass is the way to go. I wisely resisted the temptation of a whole bottle of Mondavi's Opus One (US$ 560). To up the stakes on credit card meltdown, try Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1998, a cult Napa wine at US$ 2,990 - which makes Chateau Cheval Blanc 1989 a bargain at US$940.

On my travels in the Mediterranean in mid-2008, I came across a Pinot Noir from Willamette, a cult winery in Oregon, which released the first wine under the new generation of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) corks in the USA. The back label is an eco-warrior's dream - with notes on "stewardship of the land", certified sustainable vineyards, salmon-safe water usages, LIVE (low input viticulture and oenology) and a recycling refund. The neck seal bear's the rainforest alliance and FSC certification and a WWF logo adorns the front-label. South African wine producers might want to take a closer look at this model new-wave label (www.willamettevalleyvineyards.com) - which also shows clones, soils, harvest, sugars, oak regime and peak drinkability.

Dealing with ten sommeliers aboard Crystal Serenity, I also learned the etymology of the fancy French term for a wine steward. Did you know sommelier originates from the root word somme (burden), combining sommier (one who transports supplies) and somier (a beast of burden)? According to "a word a day" (www.wordsmith.org) "a sommelier is to wine as a cicerone is to beer, though the latter has been recently introduced and is not widespread". Next time you're down at the pub, try calling, "Where's the cicerone, I need a Castle" and see how far that gets you. As a travel writer, I sometimes feel rather like a cicerone myself - in the original sense of one who shows strangers the curiosities of foreign lands. But wine is never a burden.

* To find out more about forthcoming wine and food sailings and vintage room tastings aboard Crystal Cruises, contact Development Promotions Southern Africa at (011) 442-0822, email devprom@global.co.za or see www.devprom.co.za.

Source: “Global wine trends in a cellar at sea ,” Graham Howe, WineCoZa, September 04, 2008