Panorama

Salina - drying the Malvasia grapes

Panorama under sail

Syracuse

Athens to Malta Wine Cruise 2010

11 - 20 July 2010

Introducing our 2010 Wine Cruise

Every year A&C offers a small ship cruise. We visit smaller harbours and stop for impromptu swims. You will get to know the crew and your fellow passengers and meet people from the host country in intimate wine tastings. Our cruises have been likened to house parties afloat.

For 2010 we have chartered the S.C. Panorama, a Greek registered ship that is the sister ship of the Pantheon, that we have chartered on two occasions in previous years. Panorama is a 177 foot luxury, 3 masted sailing-cruiser with just 25 medium sized outside cabins (from 115 – 130 sq ft) with en-suite shower-rooms.

Our maximum party size will be just 43/45 with a crew of 18 plus the A&C Wine Guide and Tour Manager team, which we hope will be Tim Clarke and Cindy-Marie Harvey. There is a sun deck, an interior air conditioned restaurant, and a bar with both a salon and an outside seating area at the stern. You can plunge directly into the Mediterranean from the swimming platform.

There is a superb programme of on board tastings with a panoply of wines from the regions we sail past or into served with meals on board. These include top Italian wines from Italy and Greece plus interesting wines that you are unlikely to have come across before from Tunisia and Malta.

The Ship

The SC Panorama is a 54 metre, 3 masted sailing-cruiser. She was built in 1993 and was substantially refitted in 2009. SC Panorama has three decks:

The upper deck is the Riviera deck, with the bridge. The upper deck semi-open bar with outdoor seating is behind this. To the fore is the sun-deck equipped with sun loungers. There are 2 large cabins A1 & A2 on this deck.

The main deck, the Santorini deck, accommodates the comfortable air-conditioned dining room with library and a bar. Aft of the bar there is a small deck space used as a swimming platform/watersports area. Tables and chairs can sometimes be put out here when it is not required for watersports or the dingy. Cabins 1 – 6 are all on this deck.

The lower deck, the St Marten deck, has the remaining cabins, all with port holes.

Itinerary

We are particularly excited about this itinerary, which takes in very beautiful harbours, all with their own unique histories and interest. Indeed, to be able to visit four countries and two continents in 10 days in such comfort is simply very special!

11 July – Pireaus & the Corinth Canal
Board the SC Panorama and depart in the late afternoon. About an hour out of Pireaus we will make a swim stop by some deserted islets. This evening we sail through the Corinth Canal into the Gulf of Corinth and over dinner we taste and enjoy a selection of the top wines of Greece, which impressed us so much on the 2009 cruise.

12 July – Cephalonia
We arrive in the pretty fishing harbour of Fiscardo. As there are so many restaurants to choose from along the picturesque waterfront, we have not included lunch today. You could choose just to have ‘mezzes’ in a bar or to go to one of the most famous traditional restaurants in all Greece.

The white wines of Cephalonia were at the cutting edge of the Greek wine revival, as the Gentilini winery was amongst the first in the country to harness local varieties with modern technology. We hope they will join us on board with their fragrant, beautifully made wines. For a long time they were the only quality wine producer on the island, there are now several more and it may be one of these rising stars who joins us. Set sail in the evening. Over dinner on board tonight we enjoy more fine Greek wines.

13 July – At sea
We sail across the Ionian sea to Sicily, arriving in the early evening. On board today there will be a tasting-lunch, another wine tasting and time to relax. We sail into the Great Harbour of Syracuse in the early evening and moor up. Dinner will be ashore in Syracuse. It is not included, but we will escort a party to one of our favourite restaurants in the atmospheric Ortygia (the old city).

14 July – Sicily
We are moored today in the Great Harbour of Syracuse. There is much to see here. The old city is a feast of crumbling Baroque facades on much older buildings – the Duomo for instance was originally the temple of Athena and you can see the early doric columns embedded in the walls. We will have an excursion departing mid morning to take in the Classical sites including the Ancient Greek theatre and stone quarries. This will be followed by lunch at a winery.

The main Sicilian red grape variety, the Nero d’Avola, is named after the town of Avola near Syracuse. The wines are typically bold, dark and concentrated. The local Muscat is being revived too, both in a dry and a sweet style. (Full details of optional excursions available shortly.) Alternatively you could spend the day exploring Syracuse on your own and have lunch at one of the many cafés or excellent restaurants.

We set sail in the evening for the Aeolian Islands sailing north through the straits of Messina after dinner. Dinner is on board with a selection of wines from Mount Etna which we sail past. With its native grape varieties, plus some Merlot, Etna with its vineyards at around 3000 feet almost counts as a cool climate region. The wines are restrained and elegant with interesting minerality from the volcanic soil.

15 July – Aeolian Islands
Around breakfast time we land on Lipari. Early birds will have a chance to go ashore here. We continue to the wine island of Salina, an interesting 90 minute sail away, which passes the island of Vulcano. On Salina we visit one of the wine estates and taste the delightful sweet Malvasia wines made here, some of them by the ancient technique of sun-drying or ‘passito’.

Lunch will be at a beachside restaurant, with good local food (including capers, the islands other main crop) and again, with a selection of wines from Lipari and Sicily. (Included excursion with lunch) We expect to make a swim stop before we leave the archipelago. Dinner with a selection of wines is on board tonight. Tonight we sail along the north coast of Sicily to the picturesque Egadi Islands off the western end of Sicily.

16 July – Egadi Islands & Marsala
We will cruise the crystal clear waters off Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo, possibly calling in on one of the islands or dropping anchor in one of the lovely bays. This was once a major centre of tuna fishing, but these days the islands are very quiet.

In the late afternoon we land in Marsala. We have some time to explore the old city before an evening with the leading wine estate here, Donnafugata. The Rallo family of Donnafugata no longer make Marsala fortified wines, and concentrate instead on making superb table wines from the inland hills of Contessa Entellina and sweet Muscats from Pantelleria. Dinner here is a memorable occasion with superb local food to match the outstanding wines. (Included excursion with dinner)
We sail overnight to Tunisia.

17 July – Tunisia We arrive at the Port of Tunis around breakfast time. You can either explore Tunis on your own where there are interesting traditional restaurants in the Souk or join our an optional excursion. This visits old Tunis with time in the Souk. Then we continue to the vineyards just outside the city which were re-established during the French colonial period.

Modern technology, with advice and investment from Sicily, have resulted in very decent wines being made. We will visit the leading winery, Domaine Neferis who make acclaimed wines under the Selian, Chateau Defleur and D’Istinto labels. We enjoy a delightful lunch with them. (Full details of optional excursions available shortly) We set sail in the early evening. Over dinner a selection of Southern Italian wines will be served. Sail overnight to the Italian island of Pantelleria, south of Sicily.

18 July – Pantelleria
Shortly after breakfast we sail into the harbour of Pantelleria. This is a fascinating volcanic island covered with Muscat vines, capers and villages of white-washed, domed arabesqe houses called ‘dammusi’. Explore independently (you would probably need transport though there are simple restaurants in town) or join our optional excursion.

We visit the leading independent grower on the island, Salvatore Murana to taste his super-intense Muscats. We hope to have lunch at his estate as we did when our Wine Cruise last visited the island. After lunch we stop at the Lago di Venere, a crater lake ‘natural-spa’ where one can have a mud bath and swim in the suposedly health-giving waters. (Full details of the optional excursions available shortly) We set sail in the early evening. Over dinner a further selection of Italian wines will be served. Sail overnight to the Maltese island of Gozo.

19 July – Gozo & Malta
We call into Gozo, the lesser of the islands of Malta. We hope to have a short optional excursion with a wine tasting. Alternatively, relax in the port of Mgarr. We continue to Malta, and will moor up for lunch with wines between the islands of Gozo and Malta.

We arrive in the Grand Harbour of Valetta early evening. This is one of the great natural harbours in the world and the fortifications, built by the Knights of St John have witnessed two climactic battles; the Turkish siege of 1565 and the WW2 siege of 1940 to 1942. The island resisted valiantly, indeed much of the anti-aircraft defence was manned by the Maltese themselves. The city has since been sympathetically restored. Our last dinner is ashore in Valetta. (Included).

20 July – Malta
Disembark around 08.30. Cruise ends. The optional excursion today will leave some time free in Valetta this morning before visiting one of the leading wine estates and enjoying a leisurely lunch. This excursion includes transfer to the airport for the evening B.A. flight or will drop you back in Valetta if you are taking the opportunity of staying on for a few days in Malta.

Until recently, most Maltese wine was home made and strictly for local consumption. Recently there has been considerable investment and it has become much more interesting. There are now around five serious producers on the island. (Details to be confirmed in Optional Excursions & Extension available shortly)

Visit the Download Centre to download the Wine Cruise Brochure including deck plan now!