Small ship cruise line Windstar hired a team of sommeliers to serve passengers on sailings to 270 ports around the globe.
The new wine experts provide major guest enhancement as the summer season begins and builds on the trend for fleet-wide enhancements to the wine, beverage and culinary programs of the cruise company in 2018.
Four of Windstar's ships already offer sommeliers onboard. The program launched on the 310-passenger Wind Surf which sailed to Lisbon on April 14 for its summer season in the Mediterranean.
Line’s 3 all-suite vessels serving 212 passengers each also have sommeliers onboard. All of them were chosen for their knowledge, training and worldwide experience having worked in various restaurants, wineries, travel and hospitality providers like Disney, Seabourn and Celebrity cruise lines, Radisson and Hermitage hotels, Le Cheval Blanc in Bordeaux.
The first to offer sommelier services to passengers sailing in Asia, was Justin McAuliffe. Joining him are Antony Graz Pradeep, Slaven Cosic and Vitor Da Encarnacao Custodio, who will rotate among the 4 ships.
Windstar sommeliers lead onboard wine tastings for a nominal fee, with 1 to 3 offered depending on the length of the cruise. In addition, they may accompany vacationers on culinary-themed shore trips to local restaurants and wineries.