Beverage Tastings

[uandmfan]

Hi everyone,

I recently read on this board that the beer tastings on board aren't anything special and that the beers are run of the mill ones you can get anywhere (not craft). I was wondering about the wine tasting - is it the same or do they offer some interesting wines to taste? My family isn't gourmet or anything, but the beer tasting doesn't sound worth it to them (they like craft beer for the most part) so I was wondering if anyone had experience with wine?

Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi everyone,

I recently read on this board that the beer tastings on board aren't anything special and that the beers are run of the mill ones you can get anywhere (not craft). I was wondering about the wine tasting - is it the same or do they offer some interesting wines to taste? My family isn't gourmet or anything, but the beer tasting doesn't sound worth it to them (they like craft beer for the most part) so I was wondering if anyone had experience with wine?

Thanks

While I haven't done it (yet) I've read good reviews of the Chocolate & Liquor tastings.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

I don't have experience with the wine tasting, but DH and I did the mixology class aboard our recent Wonder cruise and really enjoyed it. Very informational, and we left with several new drink recipes.

 

[hubbard53]

we do the wine and champagne tasting whenever we cruise. There always seem to be new wines - the champagnes are usually the same but they are GOOD champagnes and well worth it.

 

[FSU Girl]

I've done the Martini tasting and mixology. I really enjoy the mixology one, I've done it twice and would do it again. I wouldn't do the martini again since there were a few drinks I didn't like and didn't actually end up drinking.

 

[cvjw]

We did the mojito tasting on the fantasy and loved it

 

[dvc cruiser]

we did the Chocolate & Liquor tasting and loved it so much we did on again on our next cruise. Very different type of tasting. Different types of cheeses and types of drinks make for some strange but very good parings

 

[mocodis]

I did the Chocolate & Liquor tasting. Awesome!!!

 

[eva]

Hi everyone,

I recently read on this board that the beer tastings on board aren't anything special and that the beers are run of the mill ones you can get anywhere (not craft). I was wondering about the wine tasting - is it the same or do they offer some interesting wines to taste? My family isn't gourmet or anything, but the beer tasting doesn't sound worth it to them (they like craft beer for the most part) so I was wondering if anyone had experience with wine?

Thanks

I felt the wine tasting had a decent mix of wines. It has been a few years since we did the wine tasting though. At the time they offered champagne as the finisher and they opened it with a sword. Not sure they still do that. We thought the beer tasting was pretty generic. We enjoy the mixology more for the fun and opportunity to get behind the bar. The champagne tasting on the Fantasy was pretty good.

 

[DIS_Ag]

We’ve done chocolate and liquor twice and love it. I’d say we are mid level in our wine knowledge and this one is good.

 

[diznymom]

The Chocolate and Liquor tasting is awesome. It is Wine, Champaign and Scotch (?) along with different chocolates and cheese. These are paired up and tasted. I found it sooooo worth it. I don't drink Scotch, DH doesn't drink wine.....so I got his wine and he got my Scotch. (We work well together)

 

[CBEB]

I was thinking of doing the wine-tasting but would want me DH to come along with me (he doesn't drink wine). If I sign up for one, will he be allowed to attend and just not partake?

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Has anyone done the Whiskey tastings? I have it booked for my husband but he's not sure what to expect.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I was thinking of doing the wine-tasting but would want me DH to come along with me (he doesn't drink wine). If I sign up for one, will he be allowed to attend and just not partake?

I do not believe so. They are not set up for spectators or to control if one would come and partake. Kind of like a buffet in that sense.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I was thinking of doing the wine-tasting but would want me DH to come along with me (he doesn't drink wine). If I sign up for one, will he be allowed to attend and just not partake?

Generally, everyone who attends must pay. On occasion "just observers" are allowed. But you won't know that answer until the actual event.

 

[PartyExpress2001]

We did the Chocolate and Liquor tasting in November. We booked it after we got on the ship. Several types of chocolate (hard and melted), a Parmesan cheese and four drinks. A champagne, a red wine, a port wine and a highland single malt Scotch whisky. The Signet Glenmorangie whisky goes for $200 in my area, so that was a highlight for me.

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Has anyone done the Whiskey tastings? I have it booked for my husband but he's not sure what to expect.

I did the Whiskey tasting. It was on the Fantasy, so it was in the Meridian (which is the bar between Palo and Remy). There were only about 6 of us (not as big as some of the other tastings) so the bar wasn't closed to others, but we were in our own area (my wife sat in with us). There were four different whiskeys and a lot of information. Nothing super exotic, so a true "connoisseur" might have been unimpressed, but for someone like me who enjoys whiskey but can't go out and buy a dozen different bottles at once, it was a nice treat. They also showed us the most expensive bottle of whiskey that they had on the ship ($1200 a pour) and let us sniff the cork. It was a fun time. I did the Cognac one as well, which was also a small group.

 

[oakleycat]

We did Whiskey on the Fantasy too. It was exactly as described above, except ours was in the Cove Cafe and we had about 8 people. I really enjoyed it, our CM was a great storyteller and really got into the history and explaining the different types of whiskey production.

We've also done beer and tequila, neither of which we were impressed with, and mixology several times (always great). I did wine 20 years ago when I was only 22, so I don't remember anything about it except the opening of the champagne with the sword at the end!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I’ve done wine, beer, champagne, mixology, martini, and the chocolate and liquor tastings. I’ve done wine and beer tastings most of my 11 cruises, and at least one of the others each cruise.

Most tastings have been reasonably informative without too much overlap with previous experiences. I actually think I’ve learned something about evaluating different wines as a result of those tastings. Beer tastings have been rather mixed. At least twice (both on the Fantasy), the presenter was terrible. Just about everyone at those tastings knew more about beer than the presenter. The other tastings have all been fun experiences exploring drinks that I never really have outside of the tasting itself, since I drink wine or beer almost exclusively these days.

As to the beer selections for the tastings, these all come from beers available on board, so rather limited in terms of the craft beer options.

The wine selections are usually three red and three white, generally different styles representative of broad classes of wine, perhaps a pinot grigio, riesling, and chardonnay for the whites and a chianti, pinot noir or merlot, and cabernet sauvignon for the reds. It’s easy to appreciate the differences in the various selections as the presenter explains things. All of the wines are available on board. The presenter is usually one of the sommeliers from Remy or Palo, although it could be a sommelier from one of the main dining rooms.