Cross-Culture Journeys: Press Release: Food & Wine Tours

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 11, 2008
CONTACTS:
Ati Jain, Cross-Culture Journeys, 413-256-6303 or ajain@ccjourneys.com
Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations, 413-733-7095 or MGAuerbachPubRel@aol.com

Cross-Culture Journeys Launches Small-Ship Cruises to California Wine Country and The Pacific Northwest

Amherst, Massachusetts--Cross Culture Journeys will launch three new small-ship cruise food and wine tours to California and the Pacific Northwest this fall. According to Cross-Culture's president, Ati Jain, these itineraries, which offer luxury small-ship cruises with an emphasis on food and wine,
are great getaways for those who want short vacations with the international Cross-Cultures flair. Jain says "the foods and wines of these American regions are world-renowned, and the restaurant and winery choices highlight the best handcrafted seasonal foods and drinks available today".

Cross-Culture's "Vintner's Choice" is a 5-day, 4-night cruise aboard the MS Spirit of Yorktown, which departs San Francisco on 7 departures beginning in September, 2008. Travellers will enjoy a specially-crafted winery tour of Napa Valley with a "Cooking With Wine" demonstration at the prestige Culinary Institute of America in Greystone. In the Sonoma Valley region, visitors can opt for a tour and tasting at one of the area's olive groves at Round Pond, a cabernet lover's limo tour to select wineries, plus time to explore the galleries and shops in the quaint town of Sausilito, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

The Cross-Culture "Culture of the Vine" tour, also departing San Francisco on the MS Spirit of Yorktown, offers a shorter 4 day and 3 night getaway with winery tours and sightseeing in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. There are 9 departure dates scheduled beginning in September, 2008.

The "Taste of the Pacific Northwest" (8 days and 7 nights) aboard the MS Spirit of Discovery departs Portland, Oregon for a cruise through the Colombia River Gorge, to three select wineries near Walla Walla, Washington. Tours of the Hanford Reach National Monument and the viticulture regions of Horse Heaven Hills and Red Mountain in Washington State are included, before cruising the Hood River region of Oregon to Astoria. Selected wineries will offer tours and tastings, and meals in local restaurants will feature the finest locally-grown produce and seafood. In Astoria, a visit to a cooking demonstration at the Seafood Consumer Center is included, followed by a stop at the Shallon Winery for a chocolate wine tasting. There are four departures scheduled beginning in September, 2008.

All tours include luxury accommodations, meals, and admissions to wineries and other attractions. Airfare is extra. Independent pre-tour and post-tour extensions in San Francisco (for the California tours) and Portland (for the Oregon/Washington tours) are available. Itineraries, departure dates, and pricing is available at Cross-Culture's website, www.ccjourneys.com, or by calling Cross-Culture at call 800-491-1148 or 413-256-6303.

Cross-Culture Journeys has been offering individual and customized group tours for over 20 years. Cross Culture Journeys features all-inclusive, small-group, in-depth cultural travel programs to over 40 unique destinations from Antarctica to Zagreb by air, land and small-ship. Over the last decade, Cross-Culture has developed travel programs for alumni associations and numerous public radio stations, including NPR member stations in Western New England, Washington, DC; Virginia, Ohio, Utah, and Texas.  For information and itineraries, visit Cross-Culture Journeys' website at www.ccjourneys.com or call 800-491-1148 or 413-256-6303.

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