Riedel wine tasting

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

Does anyone know how to find out what day/time the different wine events are held on a particular cruise - before leaving of course, duh! We signed up early for the World Wine tasting, because we usually attend that event (yes, its mostly the low end stuff, but that gives me an idea of what I'm getting at the different bars, usually make a note of one or 2 that I like and ask for those).

BUT, now we have some friends sailing with us, and we are thinking we might cancel the World Wine and do the Riedel or Blendtique with them. I cannot figure out on the website if there is a way to find out what days the different events are offered. This is for the 10 day Reflection sailing in late Nov, so we have several sea days.

 

I don’t understand why they don’t provide that information in the CP. I read on here for our 7 day Summit to Bermuda sailing that it was at 10 or 10:30 on the second sea day. Why so early??  I’m hoping ours will be in the afternoon.  

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I don’t understand why they don’t provide that information in the CP. I read on here for our 7 day Summit to Bermuda sailing that it was at 10 or 10:30 on the second sea day. Why so early??  I’m hoping ours will be in the afternoon.  

I assume it isn't in the cruise planner because the exact time and day may vary a little bit from trip to trip, based on crew schedules, other factors. There are some many events and times onboard that cannot be changed, these are the few things that they have some leeway. I would think though they could say, "first sea day", second sea day, etc. even that would help.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Can anyone that took this class on the 7 day Summit to Bermuda tell me when yours was?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

18 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

I assume it isn't in the cruise planner because the exact time and day may vary a little bit from trip to trip, based on crew schedules, other factors. There are some many events and times onboard that cannot be changed, these are the few things that they have some leeway. I would think though they could say, "first sea day", second sea day, etc. even that would help.

I agree. Any information would be better than none. 

[verizon]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I don’t understand why they don’t provide that information in the CP. I read on here for our 7 day Summit to Bermuda sailing that it was at 10 or 10:30 on the second sea day. Why so early??  I’m hoping ours will be in the afternoon.  

deleted

Edited July 27, 2019 by verizon

[verizon]

3 minutes ago, verizon said:

In the morning you will have a very fresh breath and that is the best time to taste wine.

Your pallet can appreciate wine better.

Thats why they always have the event in the morning.

 

[wendyam76]

I did a class years ago and ordered the glasses with the certificate from the UK - honestly cannot remember the shipping charge.

Loved that on the Edge we got those glasses everywhere inside. The first time we got them I was going to be taking the rest of the wine to drink in the room and checked it was ok to have the glass - they just laughed at me asking! 

For the person asking about the Blendtique class I wouldn’t recommend it - I was put off that everyone was mouth pipetting the wine using the same pipettes. The glass one is much better value.

Wendy

[Dom G]

On 7/26/2019 at 4:00 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

Thanks for your help!  Hopefully we can use our certificates for the Bordeaux glasses. We don’t drink a lot of shiraz, but we do love Molly Dooker’s Two Left Feet and Carnival of Love. I’m looking forward to this class. I’ve always thought wine tasted better in our Riedel glasses, but my husband insists it’s all in my imagination. 🙄 Hopefully he will agree with me after this class.

 

I still don’t understand why they do it in the morning.  🤔 With so many having the beverage package included in their fare, you wouldn’t think they encourage starting so early!  

Proper stemware definitely makes a difference. The cheap glass will restrict the flavors of the wine. He’ll see right away how much better the wines will taste when he pours the wine from the cheap glass into the Riedel. The seminars I did with Riedel used the clunky Libby wine glasses that used to be prevalent as their control glass.  They were heavy and awkward and had a rolled lip, which makes you tilt your head further back to drink the wine. Riedel glasses are light and balanced and have a cut lip.  Riedel will amplify the wine’s flavor. While that is good for good wines, flaws in bad wines is also amplified.

 

Two special notes:

 

When washing Riedel do not hold the stem or base of the glass and wash or dry the bowl. It is very easy to torque the bowl off the stem, especially with the Bordeaux glass.  Instead, hold the bowl at its base with the stem between your two middle fingers to clean and dry the bowl. They should tell you this in the seminar. 

 

Also, for the seminar, either do not brush your teeth that morning or have something to eat before the tasting. Toothpaste will make the wine taste horrible. 

Edited July 27, 2019 by Dom G

[NCteacherlovescruising]

39 minutes ago, Dom G said:

Proper stemware definitely makes a difference. The cheap glass will restrict the flavors of the wine. He’ll see right away how much better the wines will taste when he pours the wine from the cheap glass into the Riedel. The seminars I did with Riedel used the clunky Libby wine glasses that used to be prevalent as their control glass.  They were heavy and awkward and had a rolled lip, which makes you tilt your head further back to drink the wine. Riedel glasses are light and balanced and have a cut lip.  Riedel will amplify the wine’s flavor. While that is good for good wines, flaws in bad wines is also amplified.

 

Two special notes:

 

When washing Riedel do not hold the stem or base of the glass and wash or dry the bowl. It is very easy to torque the bowl off the stem, especially with the Bordeaux glass.  Instead, hold the bowl at its base with the stem between your two middle fingers to clean and dry the bowl. They should tell you this in the seminar. 

 

Also, for the seminar, either do not brush your teeth that morning or have something to eat before the tasting. Toothpaste will make the wine taste horrible. 

 

My dh has broken a couple of our Riedel glasses while cleaning them. We now have an air-dry wine glass drying rack. 😉

 

They don’t provide plain crackers or bread to cleanse your palate before the tasting?  We drink quite a bit of wine and have been to numerous wine tastings on land and sea. In fact, we are Grand Reserve members at Total Wine so we get to attend two free wine events twice a month, a sip and mingle and a wine class. They always serve food at all their events, such as cheese, crackers, bread, fresh fruits, and sometimes Charcuterie. 

[Bo1953]

6 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

My dh has broken a couple of our Riedel glasses while cleaning them. We now have an air-dry wine glass drying rack. 😉

 

They don’t provide plain crackers or bread to cleanse your palate before the tasting?  We drink quite a bit of wine and have been to numerous wine tastings on land and sea. In fact, we are Grand Reserve members at Total Wine so we get to attend two free wine events twice a month, a sip and mingle and a wine class. They always serve food at all their events, such as cheese, crackers, bread, fresh fruits, and sometimes Charcuterie. 

Methinks you may be a bit disappointed with this tasting, short of the glasses.

 

If I recollect correctly, there was no food there, when we attended the tasting of comparing glasses. They do provide plain water to rinse your palate, of course, yet nothing beyond that.

 

This is not to say that others did not have a 'better' or different offering in terms of "cheese, crackers, bread, fresh fruits and sometimes Charcuterie" than us and an afternoon tasting time.

 

While the event is somewhat social, the main focus is on comparing, the history and using Riedel wine glasses. We found the Managers conducted the tastings  to be quite knowledgeable and informative.

 

Our tastings on both The Silly and The Summit were late mornings. We thought how odd, yet after the tasting on The Silly it was clear that it was for the glasses moreso than the wines themselves.

 

Now the activity for the world wine tasting is always held in the afternoon and there are quite a few wines to 'swill' around, as it were and that makes sense for sure.. usually that is after lunch.

 

There is nothing preventing one from bringing food to the tasting and I do not think that the comparison of glasses would suffer much with food eaten between the tastings.

 

I believe you will still enjoy it with or without the additional food from X, then again by the time you board and take the course things may have changed for your experience.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Edited July 28, 2019 by Bo1953

[NCteacherlovescruising]

2 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Methinks you may be a bit disappointed with this tasting, short of the glasses.

 

If I recollect correctly, there was no food there, when we attended the tasting of comparing glasses. They do provide plain water to rinse your palate, of course, yet nothing beyond that.

 

This is not to say that others did not have a 'better' or different offering in terms of "cheese, crackers, bread, fresh fruits and sometimes Charcuterie" than us and an afternoon tasting time.

 

While the event is somewhat social, the main focus is on comparing, the history and using Riedel wine glasses. We found the Managers of The Wine Cellar to be quite knowledgeable and informative during the tasting.

 

Our tastings on both The Silly and The Summit were late mornings. We thought how odd, yet after the tasting on The Silly it was clear that it was for the glasses moreso than the wines themselves.

 

Now the activity for the world wine tasting is always held in the afternoon and there are quite a few wines to 'swill' around, as it were and that makes sense for sure.. usually that is after lunch.

 

There is nothing preventing one from bringing food to the tasting and I do not think that the comparison of glasses would suffer much with food eaten between the tastings.

 

I believe you will still enjoy it with or without the additional food from X.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

 

I’m sure I will enjoy it regardless, although I may bring a little something to eat. I have wanted a nice set of Riedel glasses for quite some time, but dh is quite content with what we have. At least we will have a small set after doing this. 

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I’m sure I will enjoy it regardless, although I may bring a little something to eat. I have wanted a nice set of Riedel glasses for quite some time, but dh is quite content with what we have. At least we will have a small set after doing this. 

Yes, your certificate will be for a set of four (4) glasses.

 

Use his certificate to get another set that you want, that is if he lets you after the comparison! LOL

 

By all means do bring something as it is quite possible that it will enhance the experience for you.

 

Hint: sometimes Bed, Bath and Beyond will have Riedel's in stock and/or available (Vinum and up).

 

cheers and bon voyage

[NCteacherlovescruising]

3 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Yes, your certificate will be for a set of four (4) glasses.

 

Use his certificate to get another set that you want, that is if he lets you after the comparison! LOL

 

By all means do bring something as it is quite possible that it will enhance the experience for you.

 

Hint: sometimes Bed, Bath and Beyond will have Riedel's in stock and/or available (Vinum and up).

 

cheers and bon voyage

He knows part of the reason I want to take the class is to get the glasses.  He doesn’t care because we are using OBC.  Do we have to use the certificates online or can we use them at stores that sell them?

[Bo1953]

6 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

He knows part of the reason I want to take the class is to get the glasses.  He doesn’t care because we are using OBC.  Do we have to use the certificates online or can we use them at stores that sell them?

Only online through a special website.

 

Takes up to seven (7) business days to recieve.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[aml3679]

Our first cruise was on the Millenium and we did the workshop.  We booked on board, if I remember - that was 9 years ago.  It was worth it and they sent the glasses to our home so we did not have to worry about transporting them.

[JerseyGirlatHeart]

Be aware that you will be charged $25.00 per certificate for shipping.  Still worth the price IMO.

[JaneAustenCruiser]

On 7/28/2019 at 12:22 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I’m sure I will enjoy it regardless, although I may bring a little something to eat. I have wanted a nice set of Riedel glasses for quite some time, but dh is quite content with what we have. At least we will have a small set after doing this. 

I took it on the Reflection in Feb of 2018 and as a beginner in wine, I found it fascinating and very enjoyable!