Did you know Princess Cruises offers wine blending classes on ships with a Vines Wine Bar? Jenn and Jay from the Cruisin Chandlers took part in one on Sky Princess and really enjoyed it!
In this post, the Cruisin Chandlers very kindly agreed to share their experience of the Silverado Vineyards Wine Blending Experience on Sky Princess.
Introduction
We’re Jennifer and Jay Chandler, otherwise known as the Cruisin Chandlers on social media. We’re from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA and started cruising together 11 years ago for our honeymoon. Since then we’ve cruised 17 times on eight different cruise lines with three more cruises currently booked. Needless to say, we love to cruise!
What is Wine Blending?
Wine blending enables you to combine different wines together. By blending different wines, you can get the characteristics from each to create a unique flavour to suit your palate.
You can mix wine from different regions and varieties to make your own bespoke blends.
How to book wine blending classes on Princess Cruises
When we boarded Sky Princess for our first Princess cruise, we immediately gravitated to Vines Wine Bar. We asked the bartender if there were any wine events being offered during the cruise and he said yes and put our names down on a list.
A couple days later, we received a call in our stateroom inviting us to the Silverado Vineyards Wine Blending Experience and we accepted. It was held on the next to last night of our cruise in Vines Wine Bar.
Which Princess Cruise Ships Offer Wine Blending Classes?
The wine blending classes on Princess cruise ships typically take place in Vines Wine Bar onboard.
Vines Wine Bar is found on these Princess cruise ships:
- Caribbean Princess
- Crown Princess
- Emerald Princess
- Grand Princess
- Majestic Princess
- Regal Princess
- Royal Princess
- Ruby Princess
- Sapphire Princess
- Sky Princess
It’s usually located in a corner of the Piazza (atrium) and offers wine, Champagne and sparking wine by the glass and bottle, wine flights and antipasti to accompany your wine.
Silverado Vineyards Wine Blending Experience
We got ready early and went down to Vines to wait for the event to start at 5:30pm. We arrived to a beautifully set high top table for nine people.
At each table setting there was a beaker, two wine glasses and four small carafes of Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
We were also given a small booklet talking about wine blending with areas to take notes of what percentage of each wine varietal we were using in our blends.
When the class started we were given a plate of cheeses, nuts, fruits, and crackers to enjoy while sampling our wines.
The class was led by a knowledgeable sommelier who described what we would be learning that evening. We then spent the next hour and a half pouring different amounts of each wine in our glasses and playing around with making our own blends, while making new friends with our wine-loving tablemates.
By the end, we all had favourite blends that were very different from each other!
Overall Thoughts on Princess Cruises Wine Blending
It was a lot of fun and it included quite a bit of wine. We felt it was absolutely worth the $45 per person fee and highly recommend this experience. We’d do it again if we were on a ship with Vines Wine Bar.
Our next Princess cruise is on the new Sun Princess which unfortunately does not have a Vines Wine Bar.
About the Cruisin Chandlers
If you’d like to read more about Jenn and Jay’s time on Sky Princess or other cruise ships, you can visit their website at www.cruisinchandlers.com.
If you prefer social media, you can find them on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok and X/Twitter,
Happy Cruising!
Laura is a UK cruise blogger based in Cornwall, UK. She founded Cruise Lifestyle in 2016 to share useful advice about cruising, destinations and food.
Last port visited: Bridgetown, Barbados
Next port of call: unknown, but she can’t wait for cruising to resume safely!
Find me on: Twitter/X
