Luxury CruisesTasteful Voyages × Briar Rose Winery | March 18 | Total Wine, Encinitas
Imagine this: the gentle hum of a river cutting through sun-drenched vineyards, the weight of a perfectly poured Cabernet Franc in your hand, and the quiet knowledge that in a few months, you’ll be living this scene, not just dreaming it.
That’s the promise behind an extraordinary evening happening on March 18 at Total Wine in Encinitas, California. Hosted by Tasteful Voyages and Briar Rose Winery, this intimate, invitation-style event is part wine tasting, part travel revelation, and entirely unlike anything you’ve attended before.
Why We’re Hosting an Exclusive Wine & Travel Evening in Encinitas
Some collaborations make perfect sense the moment they happen. When Joan Qualls, the founder of Tasteful Voyages, first began imagining a way to bring the magic of the Bordeaux River Cruise to life for her clients, she knew a brochure wouldn’t do it justice. Wine would.
Enter Briar Rose Winery, a boutique winery that shares the same philosophy: that the finest experiences in life aren’t rushed, they’re savored. Together, Tasteful Voyages and Briar Rose Winery created an evening that does what no website can: it lets you taste the destination before you arrive.
The idea is simple but powerful: pair exquisite wines from the Bordeaux region with an intimate presentation of the May 2027 cruise aboard the Scenic Diamond, and let the sensory experience speak for itself. By the time the evening ends, guests don’t just understand the journey, they feel it.
“We wanted people to walk in curiosity and leave completely in love with the idea of Bordeaux. Wine makes that possible in a way that slides and statistics never could.”, said Joan Qualls of Tasteful Voyages
What to Expect at Our Bordeaux River Cruise Preview Night
This is not a sales pitch wrapped around a cheese board. It’s a carefully curated evening designed for travelers who want depth, not just a destination.
Here’s what the evening looks like from the moment you walk in:
Wine Tasting Curated for the Journey The Briar Rose Winery team will guide guests through a tasting selection featuring varietals synonymous with Bordeaux wine country: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc, paired with light artisan bites. Each pour is a preview of what awaits dockside in France.
An Intimate Introduction to the Scenic Diamond Joan will walk guests through the full May 2027 itinerary, from the sun-soaked city of Bordeaux to the medieval wine village of Saint-Émilion, revealing the ports, the château visits, and the kind of on-board luxury that the Scenic Diamond Space Ship is celebrated for.
Open Q&A with Expert Hosts Every question is welcome. Stateroom options. Solo travel. What to pack. Why May. The evening is deliberately kept intimate so that guests leave with every answer they need, and none of the noise of a large travel expo.
Early Cabin Access Before Public Booking Opens Space aboard the Scenic Diamond is genuinely limited. Attendees at this event will have first access to reserve their preferred cabin before the cruise opens to the general public, a real advantage for a sailing that tends to fill quickly.
How Tasteful Voyages & Briar Rose Winery Created a Unique Wine & Travel Experience
The partnership between Tasteful Voyages and Briar Rose Winery wasn’t born out of strategy, it grew out of shared values. Both believe the best experiences engage every sense,take their time, and leave you changed in some quiet, lasting way.
Briar Rose Winery brings to the table a deep reverence for the craft of winemaking and an intimate knowledge of Bordeaux’s terroir, the soil, the climate, the centuries of tradition that make a bottle of Bordeaux unlike anything else in the world.
Tasteful Voyages brings the journey. As a Virtuoso-affiliated luxury travel agency, Joan has spent years curating experiences for discerning travelers who want more than a vacation, they want transformation. The Bordeaux River Cruise aboard the Scenic Diamond is exactly that kind of experience.
Together, they’ve created an evening that doesn’t just inform, it transports. You’ll leave Total Wine on March 18 not with a handful of pamphlets, but with a vivid sense of what it feels like to glide through the Gironde estuary at golden hour, glass in hand, with nothing but beauty ahead.
Event Details
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Total Wine, Encinitas, California
RSVP: 760.815.7400 | joan@tastefulvoyages.com
Reserve Your Seat Before It’s Gone
Space is strictly limited. This intimate evening fills fast, and once the cabin list is open, the best staterooms on the Scenic Diamond won’t wait.
Call: 760.815.7400 ✉ Email: joan@tastefulvoyages.com
Visit: tastefulvoyages.com/briar-rose-winery
