Wine Cruise on the Manitou

Thursday morning I went to Mah Jongg with Sue then off to the grocery store.  I am so impressed with our brand new Maijers Supermarket.  We are so lucky to have such a nice store less than a mile from the park.  Maijers is the first store in the new Town Center shopping center.  Can't wait til next year to see what stores are coming in next. 

The Manitou

Before we left Florida, we bought tickets to a Wine Cruise on the Tall Ship, Manitou.  The weather has cooled off a bit today so the cruise should be perfect.  The Manitou is a replica of an 1800's cargo schooner.  She is 114 feet long with a 21 foot beam and holds 59 passengers.   The cruise was full but still plenty of room to move about. 

Once aboard, the crew asked for volunteers to help raise the sails and, of course, George gladly volunteered.  Now that we are under sail, the ride was a smooth and rhythmic motion.

The crew was introduced along with the wine steward, Tom from Forty-Five North.  We chose to sit on the portside at the front of the ship and, lo and behold, the wine cooler was right in front of us so we got to experience the first pours.  It was a fluke...honest!  Okay, this makes up for all the other "ship bloopers" I've experienced so far.  Much to my amazement, George decided to participate in the wine tasting.  In the 12 years we've been together, this is only the second time I've known him to drink wine. 

The first pour was an unwooded chardonnay which means it was harvested in stainless steel containers - not wooden barrels.  We didn't particularly like this one.  The next was 45 White, a nice white table wine which ended up being our favorite.  A hard cider was next and a bit tart.  I liked the Peach Cremant, a sparkling, peach tasting, sweet wine which was bubbly like a champagne.  Lastly was the Rose of Cabernet Franc which we both disliked. 

The food was catered by Silver Swan and they served a Mediterranean Cuisine made up of Stuffed Grape Leaves, baba Ganosh, Baked Brie with raspberry sauce and melba toast, and, for desert, pistachio baklava, chocolate brownies and other sweets I can't begin to name. The cruise lasted two hours and it was just fabulous, I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

On the drive home, we stopped in Moomers for ice cream to top off the evening.  Moomers is reported to be the best ice cream in the area so it was time we tried it.  We sat outside, across the street from the water, ate our ice cream and watched the sunset.