For those of us who love to whet our wine palate through selected wine tastings, the dilemma of designating a driver has always been a downer. Someone in the group has to abstain from the pleasures of the vine. However, that problem is now solved as Uncruise Adventures provides the perfect solution with its wine-themed cruises on the Columbia River, a defining river border between Oregon and Washington providing easy access to a host of award-winning Pacific Northwest wines.

Steering the boat and driving the bus to the vineyards is left to the professionals. All you do is sit back and experience the beauty of the land as you whisk by on the mighty Columbia River. For those of us who love wine, it doesn’t get any better.

I recently experienced the Uncruise and its rivers of wine, from Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of Oregon to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots of Washington. My seven-night cruise on the 88-passenger S.S. Legacy, built in the style of Victorian wooden coastal steamers of the mid-1800s, started and ended in the evergreen city of Portland, Ore. It proved to be most convenient for planning round-trip airfare.

It is an all-inclusive sailing with escorted tastings, tours, pairings and presentations from special hosts and wine experts throughout the week. Some are onboard experts and can be pestered for their knowledge to your heart’s desire. The cruise also includes gourmet dining, unlimited wine, an open bar with premium brands including liqueurs for coffee, and a 24-hour self-serve liquor bar. The only exception is tips are extra and are charged at the end of the cruise, a standard practice for almost all river cruises.

The cruise itinerary plows guests through five American Viticultural Areas in the Oregon/Washington wine region: Columbia Gorge, Walla Walla, Red Mountain, Columbia Valley and Willamette Valley. Along the way, I enjoyed the company of vintners, fellow wine connoisseurs and an onboard sommelier who greatly enhanced my tastings through his tome of acquired knowledge and science. As you sail the Columbia, Willamette, Snake and drive by the Palouse rivers, you learn about the unique terroir of the region and the local varietals. After a week, I emerged with a newfound appreciation of how stressed grapes are miraculously turned into that hedonistic delight designed to scintillate the senses and tweak our tongues.

Washington has more than 800 wineries, with about 700 small producers, while Oregon has around 675, most of them small and decentralized. The chosen ones our wine cruise visited on this variegated itinerary included Springhouse Cellars, Mt. Hood Winery, Basel Cellars, Dunham Cellars, Terra Blanca Estate Winery & Vineyard, Maryhill Winery, Sunshine Mill Winery and the Wine Shack. Each visit normally includes a tasting of between four and eight wines along with a vineyard and/or cellar tour where applicable. At some of the vineyards we were treated to lunch along with paired wines. This was in addition to the tastings.

One special night we had a vertical tasting, comparing various years of the same wine. Another night we discovered newfound delights with Zinfandel and Rosé wine, while yet another was dedicated to effervescence and bubbly.

To round out our wine education, onboard heritage guides provide history, culture, geology and educational entertainment throughout the sailing. I soon learned the glaciated soils of western Washington and the Columbia Gorge are rich in eroded basalt, alluvial deposits and wind-blown loess. All are compliments of the last ice age about 15,000 years ago, when the Missoula floods deposited silt and sand over the area. Today, the sandy and rocky soils are great for good water drainage, just what is needed to grow stressed grapes with premium, concentrated flavor.

Make no mistake as we did not always drink wine by itself, for it was paired with our dinner entrées with suggestions from the onboard sommelier. Over the course of the week, we complemented our premium wines with entrées such as halibut, salmon, king crab legs, pheasant, chicken and steak.

Wellness classes occur every morning on the top deck. For those who prefer cycling to nowhere, exercise bikes are available as are two hot tubs on the bridge deck. Of course, a big hit with all guests is the complimentary massage.

Uncruise Columbia River Wine Cruises

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