TMR Insider: A Chat with Holland America Line Cellar Master Rahul Rai

From curating onboard wine tasting experiences to pairing the perfect Cabernet Sauvignon with Pinnacle Grill’s New York Strip, the cellar masters on Holland America Line’s ships play an important role in the overall guest experience.

Responsible for wine program management, cellar masters choose what wines to bring on the ship, and work with the rest of the food and beverage team to maintain wine lists and suggest which ones to put on the ship’s various restaurant menus.

Travel Market Report recently sailed on Holland America Line’s Eurodam to sample the new Caribbean food program. While on the ship, we had the chance to sit down with Cellar Master Rahul Rai to learn more about his role, trends he’s observed, and wine pairing advice.

Hailing from Nashik, India—a region that produces most of the country’s wine—Rai told TMR he had “basically grown up in vineyards.” Although the Indian wine industry isn’t a major player in the overall global market, the country does export to buyers in the U.S. and European countries like France and Spain.

“The Indian wine market is not that huge,” he explained. “If you want to try Indian wines, we produce Cab Sav, Shiraz, Tempranillo… in white, definitely try the Chenin Blanc.”

What Wines & Wine Experiences Are Most Popular with Holland America Line Guests?

Rai oversees the Eurodam’s entire wine program. That includes logistics—like ordering and loading wines and then distributing them to the ship’s bars and restaurants—but it also involves managing a team and running events. He manages three onboard sommeliers, hosts wine-focused events such as tastings and specialty multi-course pairing dinners, and conducts wine-focused beverage training and supervision for restaurant and bar teams.

The cellar master told TMR that the wine tastings are a popular sea day activity with guests. On longer cruises, Holland America Line offers an elevated chef’s table experience, called “Koningstafel,” which features a six-course dinner with wine pairings for each dish.

“The wine tastings are quite popular. The premium wine tasting is quite fun to do because there’s a lot of food and wine pairing,” he said.

In terms of what wines guests gravitate toward, Rai said it really comes down to the regions known for specific cultivars. “The grape variety and which part of the world makes that grape variety at its best… those wines are quite popular,” he explained, citing Provence rosé from France and Pinot Grigio from northern Italy as examples.

Guests also like to see wines from their homes. Rai said American guests are often excited to see their region represented on the wine menu and will want to support it.

Tips For Pairing Wine with Bold Caribbean Flavors?

Holland America has rolled out a new initiative to bring more of the island spirit on board for its Caribbean sailings. Of course, this food and beverage menu includes a lot of bold spices and fruit-forward, rum-based cocktails. So where does wine fit in?

Rai told TMR that when pairing wine with a Caribbean menu, guests have to pay attention to the level of flavor.

“When I do the food and wine pairing, especially with the Caribbean food, what I look into is the intensity of aroma,” he said. “Some of the [dishes] have delicate flavors, and some are quite bold.”

For the lighter dishes, like the bright seafood ceviches offered on Caribbean night in the Lido Buffet, Rai suggests a light-bodied white, like a Pinot Grigio or a “Sauvignon Blanc from a cooler region like Pouilly-Fumé.” For chicken and seafood dishes that are richer, say a cream-based item, Rai recommends a more full-bodied white like Chardonnay.

For the heavier Caribbean proteins like lamb or goat, Rai suggests matching the intensity with a medium-bodied red, like a Merlot Carmenère or an Italian Chianti. Full-bodied wines, like a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Shiraz, do best against heavy dishes like beef.

When it comes to spices, Rai warns to avoid amplifying the heat with high-tannin grapes.

“My personal suggestion for the spicy food would be to go with a lighter wine… go with a wine that doesn’t have a lot of tannins and is quite fruit forward, so that will calm down the spices. To give an example, Beaujolais-Villages or Pinot Noir will be a good option [for red wines]. In white, you can go for a Chardonnay or a Chenin Blanc will be a very, very good option.”