Strumdatjag

Those of us who are skiers relish the opportunity to go into a pool or hot tub in frigid temps. May temperatures in Alaska are piece of cake!!!

Maybe we got a bit far afield from SS Talk. But my problem with Total Wine is their many wines which are bottled just for them. There often is a rating from some heretofore unknown reviewer (Not Wine Spectator/Enthusiast/Advocate, Robert Parker etc). I suspect it’s like the bogus “National Sleep Foundation” which used to give an endorsement to the “My Pillow”. At Total Wine, they often have young attractive ladies pouring samples and then trying to sell them to me. Of course, the wine tastes better (at the store) than at home. So, maybe the complimentary wine on SS will taste better than the Con List wine, depending on - - - No! There’s no good way to say this.

Good for SS. The Kiwi Sauvignon Blanca are among the best in the world. The wine snobs will only reach for a Cloudy Bay if at all. Their Pinot Noir is also very good and at a much more reasonable price than an Oregon Pinot Noir like Domaine Serene. The reds from Australia are impressive, though there seems to be less hype for them in the wine press these days. That more than quality is keeping the prices lower.

Sorry. I thought the previous email had not been posted.

Then again, it’s not necessarily a sign of a worldly Oenophile to order Opus One or Joseph Phelps Insignia. It’s arguably more adventurous to try the South African wine one has never heard about. A few weeks ago, at an Uzbeki Restaurant, my family members and I tried the Uzbeki wine. The red was good and the white was not so good, but we left that restaurant having had an Uzbeki wine - a new experience. It sounds like the complimentary wines are fine and the champagne is excellent.

By the way, you can’t really call Opus One and Joseph Phelps Insignia the type of wines which are only known to the highly informed oenophile. Pretty standard fare for the high end wine drinker. Maybe a bit of snob appeal - sorry to say.

So, if profit is not the objective of the cruise line - Should I short the common stock in RCL (up over 25% this year)?

I meant (despite the spellchecking typos) - that WOULD SOLVE the problem. Actually, I do plan to decline the offer, explaining that I’d rather be blissfully ignorant of any possible deficiencies in the complimentary wine selection. Although the staff may not pressure sales from the Con List, certainly RCL profits to some extent off of the peer pressure and stocks the more expensive wine accordingly.

With my luck, I’ll probably be sipping my rotgut Cabernet as the Con List Bordeaux is offered. Yes, I know that the Bordeauxs are more often blended and some are even primarily Merlot. But the person offering will probably be unaware of that distinction, and your suggested statement wooukd then not be understood. So, maybe I’ll bring my own MD 20-20 or Thunderbird onboard to avails the problem entirely.

You don’t understand my question. Yes, it’s great if everyone WANTS to reciprocate. But if I drink a glass of somebody else’s “great” wine, I’m going to feel obligated to buy one myself to reciprocate. I don’t WANT to but I’ll end up doing it. I’d rather just drink the rot-gut that’s included (and drink “great” wines I found on sale when I’m back home). I suspect we will get into a cocktail, wine with dinner and after dinner drink routine (with maybe even a beer on shore). I find I have less appreciation for “great” wines in that type of routine compared to just drinking a “great” wine with dinner at home.

How much of this is peer pressure? Some one or a couple meets others on board. One of the others buys a wine from the Con List. And then everyone else thinks they have to reciprocate. The chain reaction continues. Everyone gets Conned. I’m new to SS, but not new to observing human nature. Does that happen? Because I’d hate to get goaded into buying “great” wine when I can get “good” wine for free!!!

Isn’t Champagne always available? And I believe it’s a pretty good one.

By the way, my wife and I are on the Whisper.

My wife and I are first timers on SS in about a month. Other than -“Avoid the Hamburger” and “The Champagne is Great”, I haven’t seen much guidance on where SS excels and where it doesn’t on food, wine and liquor. Any ideas?

Why kill hours in the Anchorage Airport? I’m excited to head into the city (after checking my baggage) and spend a few hours in Anchorage. Maybe they serve seal meat for dinner at the local restaurants. My flight leaves at 10:15pm.