The great thing was that the Bride looked lovely and they had a wonderful ceremony which is the desire of all the attendees. Between the time of the wedding and the reception, all that were joining in for the honeymoon segment had a chance to go to our “staterooms,” unpack and that is how I discovered that one could get one hour to use an iron and an ironing board, before housekeeping took it back, which I guess is OK, because there was really no place to store it. We were also supposed to get the Premium Wine Package, which basically means that one could drink the basic wine, or pay a premium surcharge for a better wine, by the glass or get a discount if we bought a bottle.  The reception was held in the Manhattan Room where the wedding was held earlier.   

The night began trying to order our dinner and drinks.  We were going to start with Shrimp Cakes and Caesar Salad, but the wait staff could not take our drink order and we had to wait for a “Somm.”  The appetizers came and still no drink orders and I sent the food back, as I thought we should appreciate wine and food together, truly a novel concept on this ship. From my observations, I thought the cruise line could have done a better job.   We tried to order Gerard Betrand 6eme Sens Blanc IGP Pays d’Oc 2023 or referred to as Sixth Sense.   The wine is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc and Viognier.   The fruit is hand picked and gently pressed at the winery, with cold fermentation for forty-eight hours, followed by a short aging period in Stainless-Steel vats.  A pale-yellow wine that offered notes of citrus, florals and laurel.  On the palate there are tones of exotic fruits and citrus with good acidity and a short finish of fruit.

A “Somm” finally appeared, so we reordered the appetizers, then my Bride had the Flounder Filet, and I decided to go with something safe like a New York Strip steak.  My Bride decided to stay with the Sixth Sense, and I had the Grupo Olarra Era Costana  Crianza Rioja DOCa 2020.  Grupo Bodegas Olarra is a business that has three wineries.  Bodegas Olarra and Bodegas Ondarre are in Rioja, while Bodegas y Vinedos Casa del Valle is in Castilla La Mancha.  Bodegas Olarra was established in 1973 in the Rioja Alta zone, and Bodegas Ondarre followed in 1985 in the Rioja Oriental zone.  There Rioja wines are made with Tempranillo grapes according to the rules of Rioja.  This label was not listed on their website, so I cannot say which zone it came from.  A Crianza red wine must be aged for at least one year in oak, and one year in bottle and released in the third year. The wine was a deep blackish purple and offered notes of red and black fruit and some tobacco.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine had tones of red cherry, currants blended with firm tannins and medium acidity and a medium count finish of fruit and vanilla.

For our desserts my Bride had a Honeycomb Crème Broulee and I had the Chocolate Lava Cake.  I also splurged for the first of many times, wondering what happened to our “Premium Wine Selection” investment.  I had a glass of Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Single Quinta Vintage Porto 2013, bottled in 2013.  The wines used to be called Port, but since the advent of other wineries years back, especially in America offering tepid imitations called Port, the great Port houses of Oporto renamed their wines Porto, and the Porto wines are legendary fortified wines. Most of the grand Port houses have a British name, which shows how much the British valued these fortified wines. Dow’s is over two hundred years old, and has changed hands and is now part of the Symington Family Estates, but the quality and tradition has been maintained. Dow’s was the first house to receive Royal Assent and was allowed to maintain their own armed shipments of the wine to Great Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. Dow’s also owns four famed vineyards in the Upper Douro Valley and these are considered great vineyards and allows them to make all the different versions of Port wines, including when deemed proper, a vintage year; as not all years are declared a vintage year. The grapes used to make Port wines are a mix and perhaps not even the winemakers can agree on what the actual percentage of each grape is used. The most common varietals are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz (more famous and recognizable as Tempranillo), Tinto Cao and one can also find Souzao, Tinta Amarela and Mourisco Tinto.  Single Quinta Vintage Port (SQVP) is produced from a single estate (quinta) and a single vintage.  This style has emerged sin 1986 and is appreciated for its terroir-driven approach to winemaking and not offered during an official Vintage Year.  Bomfim is a classic “River Quinta” with its south-facing exposure, stony shist soil and is “A-rated.”  A purple-black wine that offers notes of ripe fruit, violets, mint, chocolate, pepper and spices.  On the palate this was truly an elegant wine, full-bodied and offering tones of ripe blackberries, raisins, maple, with rich tannins, pepper and chocolate with a long-count finish of ripe fruits and spices.