Sicily to Venice Wine Cruise aboard Le Ponant
27 July - 1 August 2008
A wonderful voyage of discovery taking in dramatic sites out of the way places and great food and wine. We sailed from Sicily to Gallipoli and Trani in Puglia, Korcula in Croatia before ending in Venice.
The cruise was very much in the tradition of our Italian, Sicilian and Greek wine cruises but using the fastest and most luxurious boat yet. There was a superb programme of on board tastings with a panoply of wines from the regions served with meals on board. These included the Sicilian wines of Rapitala, Cos, Barone de Villagrande, Planeta and Tasca d’Almerita.
About Le Ponant
Le Ponant is a 260 feet luxury, 3 masted sailing-cruiser with just 32 good sized outside cabins (from 116 – 150 sq ft) with marble shower-rooms. Our maximum party size will be just over 50 to a crew of 30. Being a French ship, there is a French chef and a pastry chef preparing superb gourmet menus.
Breakfasts and lunches are buffets and dinner is seated. There is a spacious sun deck, an open air restaurant and an interior restaurant, a spacious salon with a bar. You can plunge directly into the Med from the swimming platform, and there are snorkels, a windsurfer and a canoe available.
About Arblaster & Clarke’s small ship Wine Cruises
Every year A&C offers a small ship cruise. Cruising on a small craft has many advantages. You visit small harbours and stop for impromptu swims. You get to know the crew and fellow passengers and meet people from your host country in intimate gatherings. Our cruises have been likened to house parties afloat.
27 July - 1 August 2008
£1,999.00 
per person
Tour completed.SY Ponant Wine Cruise Includes: breakfasts; buffet lunches with wines from the ship’s cellars; afternoon tea and pastries, gourmet dinner with wines selected by A&C; additional on board tastings. Crew tips. 2 – 3 members of the A&C team will accompany the trip. Prices are per person in twin cabin and includes five nights on board
Travel: Meet in SicilySole Occupancy: £1,500.00
Deposit: £500.00
Room Upgrade: n/a
Sicily to Venice Wine Cruise aboard Le Ponant
27 July
Meet in Taormina, Sicily. We will have a round up tasting of Sicilian wines here.
28 July
Arrive Gallipoli, on the western coast of Puglia. This is of course the less well known, Italian Gallipoli. (The name is a corruption of the Greek ‘Kali Polis’, meaning beautiful city.)
29 July
Arrive Monopoli or Trani on the Puglian coast. These pretty small ports are close to the top vineyards of Puglia.
30 July
Overnight we sail accroos the Adriatic and arrive into Croatian waters and spend time on the island of Korcula. Here we find the Lion of St Mark over the entrance to the city. This reminds us that the archipelago used to belong to Venice, – reminders are to be found on all the islands in the colonnaded piazzas, soaring belfries and powerful fortifications. Dinner with our selection of the top wines from the Croatian islands.
31 July
Our destination today is Porec, an attractive town on coast of Croatian Istria. We will taste the wines from the region which are made from Refesco in the North and Malvasia in the South and from varieties that you have probably never heard of such as Posip and Plavac Mali! However, you are likely to be very pleasantly surprised by the wines which we show in a round up tasting and with dinner.
We depart from here in time to arrive in Venice. We arrive in the late evening in time for a stroll along the Grand Canal, or to catch a river taxi to St Mark’s Square, to sit in a café for a coffee and grappa and watch the world go by.
1 August 2008
Tour ends after breakfast.
Extend – Stay on for two nights in Venice.
