| P O R T H O L E : 26 April 16

APT certainly takes the wine
seriously on its European river
cruises.
This week’s Diamond top
achievers voyage features a special
guest in the form of Thomas Hardy, owner
of South Australian boutique
winemaker Thomas Hardy Wines.
That meant a special wine
tasting session, with the lucky
agents on board experiencing
seven different wines including
Hardy’s “201” – a very special
creation in honour of cricketer
Jason Gillespie’s double
century in a test match against
Bangladesh in 2006.
The Hardy wines will also
feature later this week along
with the gala farewell dinner
from the cruise, as well as
during the following days as
MS AmaVenita voyages onto
Budapest with APT’s Platinum
agents on board.
Hardy confessed that it was
quite difficult getting the wines
all the way to Europe in time for
the trip, with a number of APT
staff secreting some of the 150
bottles required in their luggage.
Of course all that wine tasting
also requires lots and lots of
glasses – so many, in fact, that
APT chief marketing officer Deb
Fox, told CW an entire cabin on
the cruise has been put aside
to hold the requisite glassware,
with the ship’s official manifest
simply saying the occupant of
the stateroom is “Wine Glasses”.