A SPECIAL LUNCH ON THE REGENT SEVEN SEAS EXPLORER

Just about everything is free on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer, even tours. However, you can pay more for more expensive alcoholic drinks and even certain meals. We each paid $179 for a special lunch with expensive wines and fine cuisine. The menu.

It all started with a Kir Royale, followed by a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Malborough, New Zealand. This is the wine that first made a world impression. Now most of the really good white ones come from this region of the country. We had a Tuna/Avocado Poke with this wine.

Then another breakthrough wine, a 2016 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from Napa Valley, California. The 1973 version in 1976 won the Paris Judgement, when nine French judges blind tasted white and red wines, and this Napa Valley wine came out with the highest score, red or white. There was a 2008 film, Bottle Shock. The reputation of California wines thereby made a spectacular leap.

Served with seared scallops. Portions were small, thankfully.

A 2018 Louis Jabot Corton Pouget Grand Cru Pinot Noir from Cote de Beaune, Burgandy, France came next, paired with a Seared Barbary Duck Breast. Excellent.

Not listed above was a shielded red wine, which turned out to be an Australian Shiraz, which was to me the best of all bottles. Should you wish to have this wine at any meal, it would cost an extra $195/bottle. Not surprising, for Penfolds annually releases the most expensive bottle of wine, and last year blended five vintages of their Grange, named Penfolds g5, and priced it at $3500/bottle. One bottle of Penfolds Grange from 1951 recently sold for $142,131.

Next a 2015 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley came with Black Angus Beef Bulgogi. This bottle can also be had at any meal for and extra $315. No real reason to do this, as all their wines are quite good, for free.

Should you wish, you could have kept asking for more of any wine, and I ended up drinking at least 10 ounces of the Australian Shiraz, 5 oz I saved to take out to the trivia game competition. Finally, a 2014 Far Niente Dolce from Napa, a late harvest wine, with Lemon Bavarian Cream and Fresh Berries. A bottle of this would cost an additional $110.

Here is a photo of some of the wines that cost more, including a Caymus Cabernet for +$90.

All in all, it was worth $179/person for this meal. In a few days, a similar lunch with champagne. This will cost more than $200/person.

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