2012 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise – Two Suites Available…or We Can All Stay In New Jersey

On September 22, 2012 the 2012 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise aboard the Seabourn Pride will set sail.  I limit the small group event because it isn’t possible to have a truly unique and personal experience with a large group.  Unfortunately, two clients recently had to cancel so there remains but two suites possibly available.

During our visits to ports of call in England, France, Ireland, Spain and Portugal we will, of course, be spending some time together enjoying the food, wine, culture and scenery of each distinct area.  But, for some, it is all about the wine.

Last night, settled in my home in Colts Neck, New Jersey I was reading an article in the New Yorker Magazine, “Why Smart People are Stupid:  Does All Wine Taste the Same?”  .  It was about the results of blind taste tests of wine from New Jersey (where I am from) and Bordeaux (where we are going).  The result was – just as I suspected:  Joisey wine tastes better!

Or does it?????

And this is where “travel” comes in.

Technically, wine is tasted blindly; that is placed in non-descript glasses with no markings.  You just taste the wine and choose which is better. 

But then you put a spin on it, you take the New Jersey wine and put it into a fancy bottle with a wonderful French chateau’s label and take the wonderful Bordeaux and put it into a House of Wines – Newark bottle and choose which is better. 

I have another approach.  Take the same wine and taste it in Maryann’s Bar in Colts Neck (scroll down the article and read the description:  six bar stools – all adorned with duck tape patches, a beer-stained pool table and an old television) and then taste it at Chateau Marguax in Bordeaux.  I don’t care what you want to think, that wine is going to taste a whole lot better in the chateau (though the accompanying pizza would not hold a candle to Maryann’s!)

You see, the trick to food and wine cruises, in my humble opinion, is not to get all wound up with which wine is better or which paring is the best (your palate is your palate…respect its wishes, but give it exposure!).  The real magic is the experience of the areas’ cultures, scenery and, of course, travel.

To be sure, there will be some pretty interesting private events including Shopping with the Chef, Wine Tasting in Bordeaux, a Food & Wine Tasting aboard the Seabourn Pride and a special experience still being finalized…

Or we can hang out at my house and drink the same wines and eat the same foods.

If you are interested in this cruise, please give me a call at (877) 2GO-LUXURY or email me at eric@goldringtravel.com .