Silversea offers new food and wine excursions in Europe this summer

New shoreside hands-on cooking classes and wine tasting opportunities with Silversea. 

Silversea Cruises is keeping up with the demand from passengers who have a penchant for more immersive and enriching food and wine cruises. This summer, Silversea Cruises will introduce several new shore excursions for the Med and Northern Europe aimed at those passengers with a passion for fine food and wine.

New options, such as a sunset stroll and wine tasting in one of Croatia’s largest vineyards, a hands-on lesson in Ukrainian cookery, and an exquisite lunch at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Bordeaux, are joining an already expansive collection of shore tours tailored to the traveller who is a gourmet at heart.

Darius Mehta, Silversea’s vice president of air and land programmes, said: “These new tours are a great way for our guests to attend dining events and wine tastings or learn about new cooking techniques in the destinations they visit. They tap into a growing trend among travellers to seek out unique food and wine experiences as a way to understand and connect with other cultures, traditions and people.”

Over the years, Silversea’s destination experts have developed dozens of culinary and wine excursions that have become hugely popular with the line’s guests. A cooking class covering French provincial cuisine in Marseille, an Italian cooking class with a countess in Venice, a wine tasting at a bodega in Ibiza, and a cooking class focused on Moroccan cuisine in Casablanca are just a few examples.

Some of the NEW tours taking their place alongside these proven epicurean favourites include:

Sunset Wine Tasting (Dubrovnik): In southern Dalmatia, the magic of a setting sun provides the perfect backdrop for a leisurely stroll and wine tasting set amid one of the region’s largest vineyards, owned by Dubrovnik Cellars winery. Participants will savour locally produced smoked ham, cheese, olives and bread as they sample fine wines and learn the history of the winery.

Castle to Culinary Delights (Bodrum): Travellers enjoy panoramic views of the Aegean Sea from atop the Castle of St John before heading to a popular seafood restaurant for a hands-on cooking experience. Participants learn the secrets of Mediterranean cuisine as the chef of the Denizce restaurant shares his techniques, special ingredients and family recipes.

Culinary Gothenburg: Gothenburg’s largest indoor market, Saluhallen, with its 40 stores and eateries, and Fiskekyrkan (the Fish Church), an indoor fish and seafood market, are showcased on a city tour that culminates with lunch at the elegant Sjömagasinet restaurant. Originally an 18th-century warehouse of the East India Company, this storied waterfront restaurant offers visitors the freshest fish and seafood delicacies cooked to perfection.

Odessa and its Cuisine: Travellers cap off a tour of Odessa’s historical and architectural monuments with a cooking class and lunch at one of Frantsuzsky Boulevard’s iconic 19th-century mansions. The Dacha restaurant, housed in a former summer residence of Odessa’s nobility, offers a class in Ukrainian cookery that lets participants join in the preparation of a sumptuous lunch that they will enjoy after class, accompanied by a glass of Ukrainian vodka, a local wine, tea or coffee.

Dinner at Classified Wine Château Haut-Bailly (Bordeaux): Sitting majestically overlooking a 30-hectare vineyard in the heart of the Graves and Pessac-Léognan region, Château Haut-Bailly, Grand Cru Classé, stands at the gates of the city of Bordeaux and offers an elegant and intimate setting for a wine tour, tasting and four-course gourmet dinner.

Chocolate Flavours of Dubrovnik: Designed for chocolate lovers, this walking tour of Dubrovnik’s Old Town, fabled for its cobbled streets and medieval architecture, culminates with a decadent chocolate tasting at the Dubravka restaurant. Participants will enjoy a rich palate of typical local sweets flavoured with a selection of dark and white chocolates, fruit, nuts and Mediterranean herbs.

Médoc & Château Cordeillan-Bages Lunch (Bordeaux): Following a scenic drive through one of France’s most famous wine-producing regions, travellers will learn the techniques of winemaking and sample two vintages at the Château Lynch-Bages winery. Afterwards, a three-course lunch is provided next door at Château Cordeillan-Bages, a Relais & Châteaux boutique hotel that has earned two Michelin stars for its cuisine.

Source: Silversea
Photo credit: Within the Wild Adventure Company/Jeff Schultz.