Food & Wine Trails, a Sonoma County California wine tour company, has announced a 2012 wine cruise designed to settle the differences between Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon wine-drinkers.
A showdown between these two varietals is planned on a 16-day cruise hosted by Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood Winery and Gustavo Gonzales, the
winemaker for Robert Mondavi Winery.
The cruise is on Oceania Cruises' Regatta, a 650-passenger cruise ship that departs February 5 from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia.
On the way, a series of private tastings of each varietal and two winemaker dinners are planned, in addition to the opportunity to visit top wine estates in various ports of call.
Cabernet and Zinfandel are two of California's most sought after red wines, yet they are widely believed to attract opposite kinds of customers. This is why they are said to be the "Yin and Yang" red-wine varietals of the wine world.
Zinfandel drinkers are said to be informal and fun loving, enjoying their wine with casual foods like barbeque and pasta.
Cabernet drinkers, perhaps due to the varietal's lineage to Bordeaux, are characterized as moresophisticated and formal, prone to matching their wines with fine French and Continental cuisine.
Next February wine lovers can discover the best of both worlds, when they cruise with the two most representative wineries of California Zinfandel and Cabernet.
Joel is considered "The God Father" of Zinfandel due to his long commitment to single vineyard Zins and was recently inducted in to the Vintners Hall of Fame, and Gustavo is producing wine for one of Napa Valley's top Cabernet houses.
On the cruise participants will be able to sip and compare the best of California's "Yin and Yang" wines, while enjoying fantastic New Zealand and Australia scenery.
The program cost includes free airfare from 20 US cities, plus a series of onboard private parties, wine tastings and winery dinners. In addition, because the region produces its own world-class wines, optional shore tours are offered to top wine estates.
February 5 - 21, 2012 Auckland to Sydney. Prices starting at $5349 per person including roundtrip air. Early bookings receive FREE pre-paid gratuities valued at $432 - $592 per cabin.
Visit www.foodanndwinetrails.com.
