Phoenix, AZ

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

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On the heels of the highly successful 2011 AmaWaterways European Wine River Cruises, one of the more interesting 2012 versions will be hosted by two Arizona winemakers who both have an interesting celebrity status. Sam Pillsbury, New Zealand born movie director and founder of the Pillsbury Wine Company, located 200 miles southeast of Phoenix, and Eric Glomski, founder of Arizona Stronghold vineyards with rock star turned Arizona vintner Meynard James Keenan, are set to host an AmaWaterways European Wine River Cruise in Provence and Spain in November 2012.

While Arizona vintners have been getting the cold shoulder from purists, people like Pillsbury, Glomski and Keenan have been turning heads with a fine crop of vintages over the last few years. As part of the campaign to bring awareness to their skills and the AmaWaterways Wine River Cruise, Sam and Eric are on a national PR campaign in conjunction with an AmaWaterways. On Wednesday, December 13, Sam will be in studio on a local radio show, Culinary Confessions, hosted by Kim Laurie her husband, Don. The show is on KAZG 1440 and he will be on from 11:00 am Mountain till noon.

The AmaWaterways European Wine River Cruises are one of their most popular specialty programs. Each cruise has at least one top-notch wine expert on board to give lectures, conduct tours of local vineyards, supervise wine tastings and mingle with the passengers. Glomski and Keenan became the subject of a documentary movie, Blood and Wine, which is described as "the eagerly awaited documentary on Tool/Puscifer front man Maynard James Keenan and his vineyard partner Eric Glomski's mission to bring notoriety and respect to Northern Arizona's burgeoning wine industry. While the film focuses on the famous rocker's winemaking, Blood and Wine offers a large picture of the often reclusive singer"

Sam Pillsbury, a working film director with a long list of credits, has also felt the barbs and heard the jokes but Arizona winemaking, and, while getting the sentiment, he is extremely serious about his winemaking endeavors.

Here is an excerpt of an article by Sam from by Craig Outhier in the East Valley Tribune that gives an interesting take on the Arizona wine story.



Pillsbury became an admirer of the loamy, sandy soil in the high desert foothills of Cochise County, about an hour east of Tucson, and bought his first 40 acres when the land was still "incredibly cheap" In 2000, he planted his first vines — mostly syrah, grenache and mourvedre grapes, all cornerstones of the wine industry in the southern Cotes du Rhone region of France, where the warm, dry Mediterranean climate presents a rough caricature of southeast Arizona farmland.

"That's the essence of terroir," he says.

Within three years, Pillsbury was making lively, balanced Rhone-style wines under his Dos Cabezas wine banner, which he co-owned with local businessman Al Buhl. In 2002, the winery scored a major coup when the White House sommelier served a Dos Cabezas pinot gris at a state dinner.

By then, the Cochise Country area was attracting some out-of-state attention for its winemaking potential. When Dick Erath, a legendary vintner known for pioneering the pinot noir industry in Oregon, swooped in to purchase 200 acres in 2006, the land values "skyrocketed," recalls Pillsbury.

No longer would Arizona winemaking be regarded as a boondoggle, as it was in a "Saturday Night Live" bit that jokingly listed the 10 worst investment opportunities. Among them: Buy an Arizona winery.

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The wines of Arizona Stronghold and the Pillsbury Wine Company have been given rave reviews by critics around the country. For information about the Arizona Wine River Cruise with Sam Pillsbury and Eric Glomski contact Avenues of the World travel agency in Phoenix at 800-230-3322 or monika@avenuesoftheworld.com.



About AmaWaterways

AmaWaterways Included Features:

7 Nights Deluxe Cruise Accommodations in an Outside Stateroom; Most staterooms with large French Balconies;Jewish Heritage Tours with specialized guides; Daily Sightseeing Program as outlined in the Itinerary; Infotainment System in all Staterooms with Free Internet, Hollywood Hit Movies, Music Library and English Language TV Stations; Terry Bathrobes and White-on-white plush Bedding in all Staterooms; Superb Dining with all Meals included on board; Free-flowing Red & White Wines from Europe's great Wine Regions, beer and soft drinks with every Dinner on board the Ship; Bottled Water in every stateroom replenished daily; Cocktail Reception, Welcome Dinner & Captain's Gala Dinner; Special Highlights including Folklore, Dances, Lectures, Theme Dinners, onboard Music Performances and afternoon & evening Piano Music; Use of Bicycles to explore on your own; Services of a Professional Cruise Manager; All English Language on board in a non-smoking Environment (smoking permitted only on the Sun Deck); All Transfers included with the Purchase of Cruise, Land & Air package; All local Taxes

AmaWaterways experienced a growth filled and award winning 2010. First their fleet is rapidly expanding while existing ships are retrofitted with the latest amenities and inventions; secondly AmaWaterways' unparalleled on-board services were fine tuned for the highest customer satisfaction, and lastly a slate of new itineraries and specialty programs and such as the Wine River Cruise, were explored and tested for possible addition to an already stellar product line. Such factors are why AmaWaterways won two Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly, an Award of Excellence form Luxury Travel Advisor, a Cruise Passenger Readers Choice Award in Australia for Best River Ship and was recognized for its Twitter account that put AmaWaterways on the list of "The Top 25 Online Cruise Vacation Influencers" by Influencers in Travel.

Award-winning AmaWaterways provides luxurious, all-inclusive river cruise vacations on the world's great waterways. Founded in 2002 by cruise industry pioneer Rudi Schreiner, cruise line executive Kristin Karst and Jimmy Murphy, founder of Brendan Vacations, AmaWaterways operates its innovative, custom-designed vessels on the Danube, Rhine, Main and Mosel rivers in Europe; the Volga-Baltic Waterway in Russia and the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The AmaWaterways fleet in Europe features amenities such as spacious staterooms with French balconies or revolutionary "Twin Balconies"; plush down bedding, marble-appointed baths; complimentary high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi; first-run hit Hollywood movies; complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks with dinner, complimentary bottled water; gourmet dining in multiple venues (MS AmaBella); nightly entertainment; complimentary small group shore excursions tailored to passengers' desired walking pace; guided bicycle tours and much more.

In 2011, AmaWaterways will introduce the new 161-passenger MS AmaVerde in Europe, the newly-redesigned 212-passenger MS AmaKatarina on the Volga-Baltic Waterway in Russia and the new 124-passenger MS AmaLotus on the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia, increasing its luxurious fleet of river cruise vessels to 12.

For more information about AmaWaterways, go to www.amawaterways.com or call 800-626-0126

For media interviews contact Promotion in Motion at 323-461-3921 or office@promotioninmotion.net

Brad Butler

Promotion in Motion

Hollywood, CA

323-461-3921

First Url: Check out the Sam Pillsbury-Eric Glomski AmaWaterways European Wine River Cruise

Second Url: Call Avenues of the World Travel Agency to Book the Arizona Wine Cruise