Cruising AmaWaterways with a Wine Expert
By Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
National Wine and Cheese Day is celebrated on 25 July of each year in the United States. It has been observed since 2014 in the US but for Anne and I, it is celebrated quite often in our household and during our travels—we started early in the late 1980s when we first met. I guess you could say we are trendsetters!
If all that were not enough, there is also the birthday of Champagne happening in the first few days of August.
So, it got me to thinking about the wonderful trips we have had in Europe, pairings of wine and cheese, and what it is like to travel with a wine expert.
So, I’d like to tell you about why I am so fascinated with wine and explain the joys of traveling with a certified wine expert.
I will begin with some introductory thoughts about wine and food pairings, then talk about champagne (Anne’s favorite drink) and finish with an interview of our personal wine expert to help you learn more about wine and how we have enjoyed our travels together on AmaWaterways.
So, grab a glass of wine, some cheese and let’s explore together!
Wine Pairings
I really like wine, especially when it is properly paired with food.
Wine is a complex subject but it doesn’t have to be—it really is about what you like and how you can best enjoy it. I am sure part of the fascination for me is how it enhances food as well as how it is enhanced by food; but I also appreciate the complex process involved in making quality wine. Wine producers wear many hats—entrepreneur, farmer, chemist, blender, and business person.
Perhaps winemaking appeals to me because there is so much work that goes on behind the scenes, much like my days as a football and track coach, that few get to see. It is a process that yields varying results but when it all works out right, it is magical!
But just like game day, when you pull the cork to taste the results, opinions flow. Thankfully, with wine, most become more joyful as they taste more, unlike some fans when we were having a bad day on the field, thought I was one of the worst coaches on the face of the earth.
Certain foods go well with certain types of wine. In particular, cheese is one of the simplest to pair wine with, but most foods are enhanced with a good wine, in my opinion!
Some of the wonderful cheeses onboard the AmaDagio during our 2013 cruise.
Instead of hearing my ramblings, I will let my wine expert help you learn more about pairings during our wine adventures on AmaWaterways.
But before we do that, I must tell you about a wonderful wine pairing Anne and I had in Vienne, France and then I’ll talk about Champagne.
2 Stars in Vienne and a Courtyard Treat
We discovered Vienne, France while on an AmaWaterways River Cruise on the Rhone River. We liked the town so much, we returned for a pre cruise stay in 2016 before joining a cruise group we were leading.
Anne found a wonderful place for us to stay with a 2 Star Michelin Restaurant, Patrick Henriroux's. This gastronomic restaurant is located in La Pyramide, a 4-star Relais & Châteaux hotel. What a meal—all was superb!
As good as that was, the better find may have been our lunch in the courtyard with appetizers and wine. Just look at this picture and you will understand how special this experience was! Sometimes the “stars are right”, and while the dinner had amazing food and fabulous service, for us this courtyard was the most relaxing, perfect experience.
Our bottle of 2013 Viognier Wine—it paired so well with the cheese!
Champagne
Anne’s favorite drink is champagne. When we think about Champagne, our thoughts go to the good life—it is elegant, sexy, cool, celebratory, and a luxury for most. Champagne is in a class of its own—there are few alcoholic drinks you can start on early in the morning and not receive looks of shock. Even better, when people see you celebrating with champagne, they know it is a special event. We toast our successes, christen ships with it and generally celebrate life with it.
So, on the supposed birthday of Champagne (August 4, 1693), I thought I’d write about Champagne in honor of Anne’s favorite drink.
Champagne (edited by Mark Thomas, Certified Wine Expert)
I’m no expert on Champagne, but like most wine, I really enjoy drinking it. The good news for you is our wine expert, Mark Thomas, edited this portion, so your know it is very good information!
Wine is produced from grapes and the terroir or characteristics of the area (soil and climate are the most important items influencing terroir) in which the grapes are cultivated shapes the taste of the wine.
However, still wine and Champagne differ in how they are made by the winemakers. Without getting too technical, Champagne is created by trapping the CO2 gas that is produced during the fermentation process instead of allowing it to vent off like is done when making still wines.
We prefer dry Champagnes—Brut and Extra Brut in the lingo of Champagne. This term refers to the sweetness of the wine due to the amount of sugar added during the fermentation process. There are 4 main types of Champagne. They are 1) Prestige Cuvee, 2) Blanc de Noir, 3) Blanc de Blanc and 4) Rose’. Prestige Cuvee is a blend wine and the best wine produced by a winery. Blanc de Noir is produced by black or red grapes, typically Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier. Blanc de Blanc is produced by white grapes, typically with 100% Chardonnay grapes. Rose’ is a blend of white and red grapes.
Four great champagne wines we sampled in Lyon during the Ledson 2014 Provence cruise.
One of the hosts explaining to our small tour group from AmaWaterways about the characteristics of the Champagne we are about to sample.
What Glass Should You Use to Drink Champagne?
Now to the important part—what glass do we drink from? There are two types of Champagne glasses—the flute and the coupe.
The legend of the creation of the coupe is that it was modeled after a mold of the left breast of Marie Antoinette’s—great story, but probably not true. Experts favor a flute (retains more of the bubbles) but who can argue with the elegant, sophisticated coupe?
My advice—use both and drink more champagne!
Mark pouring champagne at his home. We are drinking Roederer and of course, with a wine expert, he serves it at the correct temperature and with the correct glasses!
Two Fun Facts about Champagne.
Legend says Champagne was invented by a Benedictine Monk, Dom Perignon. There is no doubt he made significant contributions to the production and quality of Champagne, but he probably did not invent it
Most folks know about him, since the best known of all Champagnes, Dom Perignon, the prestige cuvee from Moet & Chandon, is named in his honor. He supposedly said upon tasting Champagne “Come quickly, I am drinking the Stars” but it possibly appeared in a print ad in the late 1800s (thanks Wikipedia).
The world’s best-known fictional spy, James Bond, is an avid Champagne drinker. Do you know his favorite Champagne? The answer is both Bollinger and Dom Perignon (we learned this on the trivia quiz on an AmaWaterways Wine cruise).
One way to have the good life, in my humble opinion, —drink more Champagne!
Champagne and Travel
There are many ways to enjoy Champagne when traveling. Number one for Champagne lovers has to be the Champagne region of Northeastern France. The area of chalk plains and gentle hills between Paris and Lorraine is home to the most famous sparkling wines in the world.
In fact, by European Union (EU) standards and most countries of the world, the term Champagne is exclusively reserved for sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France.
According to the website About France.com, it is possible to visit 51 Champagne cellars around the towns of Reims and Epernay. Besides great wine tours and tastings around Reims, the medieval Gothic cathedral, with its exquisite rose window, is the location where the former kings of France were crowned—it is a site not to be missed.
In Epernay, along with the wine tours, there is a Champagne museum and the Abbey of Hautvilliers, where Dom Perignon created his version of Champagne.
Anne’s favorite pairing is with a dozen oysters on the half shell—did I marry well, or what!
AmaWaterways has added trips to this region as an extension of their river cruises in France—do you think I need to go on one with Anne? We would also be glad to help you visit in combination with an AmaWaterways cruise and maybe part of a group we would like to lead--please read on!
Cruising AmaWaterways with a Wine Expert
Since 2013, we have been fortunate enough to travel with two great folks, our Travel Chums, Denise and Mark Thomas.
Mark and Denise in their formal Scottish clothes on Christmas Eve 2018 with Santa. Anne planned our adventure to Kasteel Englelenburg in Brummen, Netherlands.
Mark is a certified wine instructor. So, I thought I’d let you see what it is like to travel with your own personal wine expert.
Mark, can you briefly tell us about how you and Denise got interested in wine and your credentials as a certified wine person?
Denise celebrates her birthday at the Chef’s Table in 2018.
Mark and Denise in London 2019 on a Thames River scenic cruise.
My wife Denise became interested in wine in college and she sought out opportunities to learn more about wine by attending tastings, food and wine pairings, and winemaker dinners. I became interested after high school when I was getting ready to join the Coast Guard. In the military, there is a saying, “hurry up and wait”, so I had a lot of time on my hands to read. And as a bachelor living in apartments around the country, I figured I needed to learn how to cook or starve! So, what better way to enjoy food but alongside nice wine. So, I read everything wine related I could get my hands on (Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine & Spirits Magazine, Food and Wine Magazine, etc). I remember the first bottle of wine I ever truly enjoyed with a meal; a 1979 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Pinot Noir. I won’t count all the Boone’s Farm, Mateus Rose’, Blue Nun, and MD2020 I drank before that though!
As far as my credentials, when I retired from the Coast Guard in 2010, I went to work for Ledson Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma, CA. I started out pouring behind the tasting bar, went on to work in wine club support, participated in tasting panels with the owner & winemaker, and accompanied him out in the vineyards learning all I could. In 2011, I was promoted to General Manager and remained in that position until I moved to Colorado in 2017. Today, I still work for Ledson from home doing wine club support, and I coordinate the entry of all of our wines into wine competitions around the country.
I researched credentialing avenues and decided to go with the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, London, U.K. I passed the Level 2 Intermediate course in Wine & Spirits with Distinction in 2018 and then completed the Level 3 advanced course in Wines with Merit in 2019.
What was it like to help host the 2014 Ledson Wine Cruise?
Mark preparing for a tasting during the 2014 Ledson wine cruise. Mark selected the wines and made sure they were served correctly for the tastings. Ledson wines are great and he and the crew did an amazing job!
It was a great experience! The chance to interact with our wine club members as well as the other guests on the ship was a huge thrill for me. To see their reactions as they tried the different wines we served onboard, hear their stories about wines they’ve enjoyed over the years, and places they’ve visited while enjoying delicious meals onboard was a life enriching experience for me. It was also a great pleasure working with the crew onboard and how we all pulled together to ensure the tasting seminars, winemaker dinner, and tasting parties all came off without a hitch.
Captain’s Table on the Ledson 2014 Wine Cruise. Captain Danny (left), Denise and Mark.
What are the most important wines grown and produced in the Provence/Rhone region?
Wine Regions of the Rhone River. Map from AmaWaterways
In Provence, Rose’s dominate. These delicious bold, crisp, fruity wines pair great with the local seafood dishes (Bouillabaisse, Fish soup, etc). The red grapes that dominate the region include Mourvèdre and Grenache while the primary white grapes include Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, and Clairette, usually blended together in some form or another.
As you head up the Rhone River from Arles toward Lyon, you first encounter the Southern Rhone region where the red grape varietal Grenache dominates. Often primarily blended with Syrah, and Mourvèdre, these wines are rich, earthy, gamey, and full-bodied especially in the area of Châteauneuf-Du-Pape. Other red blending grape varietals include Carignan, Cinsaut, and Counoise. The delicious white varietals of the Southern Rhone are the same as in Provence
Moving into the Northern Rhone, you’ll find Syrah is king among the red varietals while Viognier in the appellation of Condrieu, along with gorgeous blends of Marsanne and Roussanne in the appellations of Hermitage and St. Joseph dominate the white varietals.
What were some of your best experiences on the Provence/Rhone River cruise?
Mark and Denise outside an awesome restaurant in Vienne, France
Wow, so many great experiences come to mind. The town of Avignon, trip to the Pont-Du-Gard Aqueduct, the town of Les Baux, Olive farm visits, Truffle farm visits, Roman ruins, the lavender fields, the visit to the town of Grignon, tasting fresh nougat from Montilemar, sampling the food, wine, and cheese in every town we visited. The warmth and hospitality of the local residents was another great experience for us.
Truffle Dog at work. This was part of the included tours on our 2013 Provence Rhone Cruise
What are the most important wines grown and produced in the Bordeaux region?
Bordeaux Wine Regions Map. Image from AmaWaterways
Some of my very favorite red wine varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and various blended wines with these varietals in varying percentages. For white varietals, again some of my favorites: Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon with which some produce world-famous Sauternes.
What were some of your best experiences during the Bordeaux cruise?
First, seeing some familiar faces among the Captain and crew. Second, the beautiful city of Bordeaux, the food, the wines, the visit to the La Cite’ du Vin, dinner at La Tupina—Out of this world! Vineyard & winery visits and tastings in Sauterne, Pauillac, the Medoc’, Saint Émilion, and the hike around Chateau Boutinet, and finally, being close enough to Amboise to do a post cruise visit to see Vouvray, Tours, and taste the food and wines of the Loire Valley (Anne planned a private tour for the 4 of us with the help of a France Specialist we work with and have sent folks on after AmaWaterways cruises).
On our A Taste of Bordeaux Cruise in 2017. The 3 Amigos—Hank. Miro (the Head Bartender) and our wine expert, Mark Thomas. We first met Miro in 2013—what a great guy and so typical of the outstanding crew on AmaWaterways ships
Dinner at La Tupina in Bordeaux—(from left to right) Hank, Anne, Denise and Mark
Oak Barrels in Saint Émilion on our Bordeaux cruise 2017
Pauillac Winery—we had a great tour and tasting here!
What are your thoughts about the quality of wines served on board AmaWaterways cruises?
I think they are very good! The wines vary based on what ship you are on and the wine regions you are in, and the wines change up each night based on the food served and the areas you are visiting. The ship also has a diverse wine list for those who wish to dive a little deeper into a particular wine region or varietal. The crew is also very intuitive and accommodating to those they see appreciate great wines; they will go out of their way to let you try other wines if they have them open. They do their utmost to ensure you enjoy what you’re drinking with your meals.
Denise and Mark enjoying wine on our 2018 AmaKristina river cruise
What are some of your favorite pairings of wine & cheese?
Keeping in mind that taste is a very personal and subjective thing, there are some classic wine and cheese pairings (although they may not be right for you), give them a try. Some of my personal favorites are:
1) Goat cheese with any high-acid white wines such as Sancerre (Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc), Chenin Blanc, Chablis, etc.
2) Brie with Champagne or Chardonnay
3) Comte with Chardonnay
4) Taleggio with Condrieu (French Viognier)
5) Bleu Cheese with Cabernet Sauvignon
6) Stilton or Gorgonzola with Vintage or Late Bottled Vintage Port
Most cheeses pair best with white wines due to their increased acidity. If you like, you may also try and pair these cheeses with lighter red wines like Pinot Noir, Gamay (Beaujolais-Villages), or Chinon (French wine: Varietal: Cabernet Franc).
What are some of your favorite pairings of food and wine so we can enhance our dining experiences during meals?
I, like Anne love Champagne & Oysters on the half-shell. I also like to pair:
Grilled Salmon and Pinot Noir
Roast Duck Breast and Merlot
Grilled Rib-Eye and Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Bordeaux from the Medoc’, Pauillac, Graves, or Pessac-Léognan (Something Left-Bank that is Cabernet dominant).
Roast Turkey and Pinot Noir
Lemon Grilled Scallops and Sauvignon Blanc
Steamed Mussels and Pouilly-Fuissé
Dungeness Crab and Chardonnay
BBQ Ribs and Zinfandel
Braised Lamb Shanks and Syrah
Hearty Beef Stew and Petite Sirah
Question. How can we best learn more about wines?
Read all you can and taste new and different wines. We tend to gravitate to what we know. The best way to learn about wine is to drink more of them. Experiment with different varietals that you haven’t had before. Take a wine course at your local college or a wine course online. The ability to interact with fellow wine enthusiasts and foodies is exciting and eye-opening!
Question. Would you like to lead a wine group for us during an AmaWaterways cruise?
I would love to! Any chance to broaden my knowledge of the world, experience new cultures, and meet new people is a huge honor and privilege for me!
My Final Thoughts
What a great experience! We would like to thank our wine expert, Mark Thomas, for his unique knowledge and sharing his ideas—as you can see, he ROCKS!
Please reach out to us if you would be interested in travel with Mark and us on a wine cruise in 2022.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 49 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
· AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
· Viking River Cruise Specialist
· Scenic River Cruise Specialist
· Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
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