This is latest of a series of posts documenting Bohemian and Pacific Sun newspapers publisher Rosemary Olson’s wine and food cruise around Italy and Croatia with Duckhorn Vineyards and Food & Wine Trails. Both publications are affiliates of SanJose.com

Argostoli, Cephalonia, Greece

Off to see the mysterious Melissani and Drogarati caves. Drogarati cave is about 100 million years old and was discovered 300 years ago when an earthquake opened the entrance. The acoustics are perfect for concert events, particularly opera. In Melissani cave you travel by boat. The stalactites are estimated 20,000 years old.

The chilly water is a rich blue, a mix of saltwater from the Ionian Sea and freshwater that flows from Argostoli. They say a dragon lives in the Drogarati cave, thankfully, I only saw cave pigeons.

Upon returning a quick nap was in order to prepare for a special dinner at Jacques Restaurant with Duckhorn staff and selected wines. Winery President Alex Ryan shared a fascinating story about the winery’s history. It’s quite clear how they are so successful with their talented team and incredible wines.

Our favorite dishes of the dinner included a hearty serving of duck foie gras with candied black cherries, jumbo bay scallop and watercress carpaccio, and green apple tartare with caramelized hazelnut. I also loved the escargot purée pastry and prime rib with pepper and herbes de Provence.

Then we danced the night away with their house DJ sipping Shramsburg bubbles and martinis as the ship swayed in high winds. Upon leaving the bar we slipped outside and could barely keep our footing, so for fun we grabbed a ship-mate scurrying to tie down the deck to snap our picture. When we looked at the photo our faces were a bit contorted from the strong wind much like sticking your head out of an airplane.

Culinary Class

Oceania’s Culinary Institute is the only cooking school at sea and extremely popular. I was fortunate to participate in the “Mermaid” cooking seminar with Chef Instructor Noelle Barille. The lesson was cooking fish seven ways. Noelle is humorous, but precise with her instruction.

At one time in my life I was a private cook fro a wealthy family on Martha’s Vineyard. They called me their chef because they loved my cooking. At the end of the summer they offered me, fully paid, to go to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. It was a chance of a lifetime but I did not want to be so far from my family at 17, so I went to Mt. Vernon College and chose publishing and here I am 30 years later admiring Noelle who went to the Culinary Institute of America and worked as a chef in Napa and now lives in Genoa, Italy.

We sautéd salmon with a soy sauce glaze, lightly fried jumbo coconut shrimp, ceviche, gravlax, roasted sea bass, poached salmon for salmon salad and pan-seared sea bass with a light cream sauce.

I learned a lot about cooking fish. Only turn fish once. Don’t use tongs. Squeeze ginger juice from grated ginger. Use parchment paper. Don’t use butter because it burns in the pan. Use regular olive oil just to coat pan and be patient and watch the temperature closely.
click to enlarge The streets of Kotor.

Kotor, Greece

I needed a break from tours so the class was great. The last time I took a tour nearly everyday for a week was my trip to Ireland when I was 21. On other trips I self navigated and explored without a guide. But I was eager to see Kotor. Anxiously, we walked around old town inside a fortress. I do believe one of my past lives was in the medieval era. I love the architecture, stone, mysterious paths, churches and smells. So, I’m on a mission to buy a ring that was handmade in Kotor. Two shops into my quest, I instantly fell in love with two completely different and stunning rings. I thought the clerk said they were 50 percent off but they were 15 percent, within those few minutes I knew I was buying them both anyway so I really did not care. I loved them. Off to the square for a beer and shared pizza which was served with the sauce on the side and that was good because it tasted medieval moldy. In a good way.

Ciao until next time.

This post has been sponsored by Duckhorn Vineyards and Food & Wine Trails. If you'd like to sponsor an existing or future post, please contact our advertising team.