Voyage du Vin: An Elegant Cunard European Wine Cruise
Guest contributors John and Sandra Nowlan report on their “Voyage du Vin,” a cruise for wine-lovers with vineyard visits in Spain, Italy and France.
Samuel Cunard would be very pleased with a cruise that focuses on vineyards and wine. According to Cunard historian John Langley, although the Canadian-born founder of the famous shipping and cruise line was probably a teetotaler, the steamship pioneer saw the virtue (and profit potential) of stocking even his early paddle wheelers with fine wines from Europe.
Our 14-day “Voyage du Vin” on Cunard’s Queen Victoria left Southampton and headed south towards some of the prime grape-growing areas in Spain, Italy and France. Ahead of us were tours of some outstanding European vineyards, guest speakers with a broad knowledge of wines, elaborate dinners with matching wines for each course, and onboard tasting sessions featuring many of the best of the more than 400 wines from Queen Victoria’s extensive cellars.
Arriving in England a day in advance, we stayed at a Cunard-recommended hotel, Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa, a magnificent Relais & Chateaux historic inn adjacent to the New Forest and close to the port of Southampton. With sumptuous surroundings and some of the best seafood we’ve ever enjoyed, we felt totally pampered.
Getting our sea legs on Queen Victoria
Boarding Queen Victoria the next day was quick and efficient. The elegant grand lobby led to many spacious public rooms designed for comfort and convenience. The centerpiece: a huge Queen’s Room, used for big band dancing, afternoon teas, concerts with the resident string trio or guest musicians (like the outstanding classical guitarist, Carlos Bonell), daily exercise classes (like line dancing and aerobics) and formal receptions on gala nights.
The 730-seat Royal Court Theatre is designed to look like a large, historic London West End playhouse with comfortable, red velvet seats, great sightlines and even 16 private boxes along the sides. Unlike many cruise lines, Cunard emphasizes live music and employs two orchestras (one in the theatre and one in the Queen’s Room) along with a talented ensemble of ten dancers and four vocalists who present six different, complex song and dance shows over the course of the cruise plus a full-length play (in our case, it was Neil Simon’s witty California Suite). The musical highlight was a brand new staging of the award-winning West End tap-dancing musical, Top Hat, based on the 1935 movie starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers—marvelous entertainment with familiar Irving Berlin tunes.
Every day, in addition to the wine themes, there were dozens of choices of things to do from sporting challenges, (like darts, ping pong, shuffleboard, and fencing) to trivia, art, and bridge classes, to guest speakers on a wide variety of subjects (like astronomy, climate change, and the Royal Family). If guests prefer to read and relax, the 6,000-volume library (covering two decks via a spiral staircase) is one of the best at sea.
On most cruise ships, the main buffet restaurant is usually crowded and unappealing. On Queen Victoria, the Lido (covering the back half of Deck 9) was never crowded and offered a wide variety of British and international dishes. In fact, some guests told us they preferred to dine each day in the Lido rather than the more formal Britannia dining room on decks two and three.
As most cruise lines have become more casual, Cunard alone retains the tradition of requiring men to wear a jacket (tie optional) each night at dinner and, for several formal nights each cruise, a dark suit, tuxedo, or dinner jacket. Clearly, Cunard guests love to dress up. One guest from Wales told us the formal nights were great because they reflected the ship’s opulence and style.
Discovering Spanish, French, and Italian wines on our Voyage du Vin
After a day at sea, our “Voyage du Vin” began in earnest. Queen Victoria docked in Vigo, Northern Spain, and we chose a tour of the Galician wine region. The normally damp, cool climate produces some wonderful white grape varieties, especially the Albarino. To avoid rotting on the wet ground, grape vines are supported by wooden or cement pilings, sometimes a couple of metres high.
Over the course of the cruise, several wine experts gave talks and hosted opulent dinners in the Verandah Restaurant. One evening we chose a Bordeaux theme dinner with Wall Street Journal and Sunday Times wine writer Will Lyons.
At an extra cost of $ 230 USD per person, the chef went all out with his cuisine (Gin & Tonic Smoked Salmon, Tea-smoked Duck Breast, Dry Aged Black Angus Beef Fillet, and a decadent Strawberry Pavlova dessert) while Will Lyons introduced seven Bordeaux classic wines including Chateau La Fleur des Graves Blanc, Chateau l’Evangile Pomerol, Chateau Magdelaine Grand Cru Classé and, for dessert, Chateau d’Yquem, 1996. Excellent food and high-end wines
Our next stop was in Mallorca, Spain, where our tour took us to a small, rural winery run by a family proud of its botanical garden (exotic cactus) and historic farm implements. Seated in the garden along two long tables, we were served several excellent Mallorcan white and red wines along with an outstanding sweet wine.
Following another activity-filled day at sea, we docked in La Spezia, Italy (unremarkable since it was reconstructed after heavy bombing in World War II). Like many other guests, we headed for nearby Pisa and its famous Leaning Tower (now leaning less, thanks to clever engineering). But Italian wine beckoned as our tour then proceeded to a 17th Century farmhouse in Tuscany where the winemaker provided generous samples of his excellent vintages along with snacks and cheese.
In Cannes, France, we had to anchor and use lifeboat tenders to reach the port. We’d seen the glamorous film city before and opted for a tour of Old Antibes, an ancient town dating back to the Iron Age. The town has an excellent Picasso Museum and includes the largest yachting harbour in Europe. We enjoyed the lively market, including colourful spice shops, reminiscent of Istanbul.
After docking in Barcelona, another non-wine tour took us to the old Roman city of Tarragona. Its amphitheatre dates from the second century while the impressive town cathedral was begun in 1154. There are lots of tourists in Tarragona…and lots of pickpockets.
Back on board Queen Victoria, we chose another opulent, extra-cost dinner, this time focusing on Italian wines. Our host and wine guide was Canadian Master of Wine, David Gleave. For a surcharge of $130 USD per person, we had another superb dinner featuring Herb Gnocchi, Smoked Venison Carpaccio and Chateaubriand.
Our favourite wines among the eight served were a dry, well-balanced La Rocca Pieropan, a 2016 Fontodi Chianti Classico, and a 2014 Barolo Aldo Conterno.
Our final Cunard tour before sailing back to Southampton was from the fascinating port of Gibraltar We left the British Territory, crossed the airport runway (traffic stops when planes come and go) and entered Spain again. Our destination was a cork and cattle ranch where the friendly owner showed us how cork is stripped from the trees every nine years and then regenerates.
The main use for cork is for wine stoppers but purses, hats and toys can also be made from the material. With screw caps becoming more common, the cork farm owner is trying to diversify and use his acreage as a wedding venue and a kind of cork-themed park with animals and educational exhibits.
Winding down after a wonderful voyage
Arriving back in Southampton was as seamless and efficient as embarkation. This “Voyage du Vin” was an excellent way to combine traditional Cunard hospitality with opportunities to increase our knowledge of and enjoyment of wines. Next year Cunard is planning its “Food and Wine” event aboard the Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 as it crosses from Southampton to New York in June. Like this year, the crossing will feature many wine-focused events and expert speakers. Samuel Cunard would be delighted!
All photo credits: John and Sandra Nowlan, except the lead photo, Wikimedia Commons/Dasher
*John and Sandra Nowlan are travel and food writers based in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Disclosure: The Nowlans were guests of Cunard Cruise Line. Any opinions expressed in this post are their own.
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