Cruise Lines

I mentioned that my cruise on Grand Princess this week has something of a wine-theme as it's been all about discovering how easy it is to visit wineries in the various countries we are calling at and enjoy a glass or two of the local tipple.

It links in with a mini brochure Princess Cruises has produced that's aimed at inspiring passengers to do their own wine-themed thing in the ports in France, Italy and Spain that Grand Princess visits on its cruises from Southampton.

"We're not just out to sell excursions," Princess head of brand marketing Pieter van der Schee explained. "We actually want our passengers to have a really enjoyable holiday and wine tasting is one thing we believe many people will enjoy. Hopefully the leaflet will help to give them ideas."

How refreshing is that?

In fact my tasting lessons started on Grand with a wine-tasting session with sommelier Stefano, below, who had picked a Champagne and five wines - two white and three red - for us to sample.

We learnt where the wine came from, how to swirl it properly before sniffing, how to sniff it - why can I never get the aromas of strawberries, blackberries, roses and so on, like everyone else? - what the colour told us, what legs are and what food to eat with the wine. And then finally were allowed to taste.

Two hours later we all left as very happy experts!

Next day, from Barcelona, we drove 45 minutes out of town to Cava country, to visit the Freixenet estate and taste the Spanish sparking wine they produce.

I'd never heard of Freixenet and expected a small company in a little town of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, which I'd also never heard of. How wrong can you be? They produce 80 million bottles of Cava a year, 70% of which is exported. And boy do they love their branding. Just look at this bottle lamp and the picture below of me in front of the car!

We were taken on a tour of the vineyards, the visitor centre, which explains how Cava is made, the bottling plant and the cellars, ending the visit with a 15-minute mini-train ride through more cellars ... and more cellars ... and more cellars. Enough cellars in fact to hold 80 million bottles.

Actually the train ride was not quite the end as naturally there was a Cava tasting, augmented with some Spanish jamon, saucisson sec and bread with tomato. So if you do this you also get to taste some of the local tapas as well. Heaven!

And then it was on to Monaco, from where we snuck into France - not so difficult considering how tiny Monaco is! - to visit Chateau de Cremat just outside Nice, which was quite different from Freixenet. An estate with just 15 hectares that produces just 40,000 bottles of red, white and rose wine a year that's all sold in local shops and restaurants.

Roxanne, the guide, took us into the cellars, which date back to Roman times and where you can still see the rooms where they used to tread grapes. That tap on the left side is where the juice came out.

To do this tour, you need to pre-book and have a minimum 10 people. Cost is €15 (€19 at weekends), which includes a visit to the cellar and three wines to taste. For €25 (€32 at weekends) they'll throw in a feast of local ham, saucisson sec, cheese and bread. Highly recommended!

Princess has plenty of other suggestions for wine-based tours - excursions to bodegas from Seville to find out all about sherry-making, Chianti-tasting in the countryside around Livorno, trips to find out about the Campania wines produced outside Naples.

What a shame I'm getting off now so I can't try them out for you.

But at least it gives me a great excuse to come back!