The Grand Southport paid partnership
Ever dreamt of going on a world cruise?
Well, with Fizz & Ships you can enjoy more than just a taste of that experience with a maritime-themed wine tasting evening.
Cruise the world and sample its wines along with coastal-inspired bites from your chair in The Grand’s splendid surroundings – an immersive experience without getting wet!
The event takes place at The Grand, 180 Lord Street, Southport, PR9 0QG from 7pm on Friday 21st August 2026.
Tickets to make your way on board are on sale here: Fizz & Ships! – The Grand
The ship will be crewed by wine expert Jane Clare and maritime historian Peter Elson,, whose words and pictures will steer this acclaimed event.
There’ll be plenty of laughs and fascinating stories from across the decades with this unique blend of real wines and virtual sea voyages.
On embarkation ‘passengers’ will receive a welcome aboard glass of sparkling fizz, before setting sail on a fun and informative illustrated armchair cruise, with pictures from the golden age of cruising.
Peter takes us around the world via various liner routes – especially voyages of Cunard and the White Star Line – sharing anecdotes of both a bygone era and modern twists along the way.
Passengers will also hear the stories of people from Sefton and Merseyside who have played prominent roles in historic events.
As you sail into each port of call, Jane will introduce a wine from that destination – Spain, South Africa, Chile, California.
Then you will “head back to Blighty”, marking the end of the voyage with a glass of fizz – raising a toast to sailors, the crews, the famous ships.
Peter Elson said: “We’re very excited to bring Fizz & Ships to this venue, which is the perfect setting for our imaginary cruise, conjuring up exotic destinations with wines and entertaining words.”
He added: “The Grand is the absolute ideal location to host this Fizz & Ships event.
“The building was opened in 1923 and has a wonderful art deco heritage and splendour.
“Things like the wonderful mural they have in their lounge area replicate the ambience of ocean liners like The SS Île de France which introduced the ocean liner style or the art deco style as it’s also known into the public consciousness.
“What we’ll be doing is talking about these stories which link this area with the great ships.
“One of my favourite stories is the fact that the largest ocean liner built in England was the Windsor Castle and that almost didn’t get launched because Queen Mother, who was going to do the ceremony, suddenly got a terrible nose bleed and the ship had to be launched on the absolute high tide on the Rover Mersey.
“Luckily she managed to stem the flow before she sent the liner down into its natural element.
“One of the great things about doing this event here is there are so many local links with all the ocean liners and these amazing personalities who sailed the seven seas aboard them.
“I guess the most famous is Captain Edward Smith the Captain of The Titanic who took the job just before he retired which was a bad move because he didn’t survive the sinking when the ship infamously hit the iceberg.
“He lived just down the coast here in Waterloo.
“Likewise the man who came to the rescue and picked up all The Titanic’s 770 survivors, Captain Arthur Rostron, lived in Crosby.
“We have got all these amazing links that we can talk about and you’ll hear a lot more about at this event.
“We look forward to seeing you here.”
Jane Clare said: “It’s always a pleasure to be a part of Fizz & Ships as not only do we hear fascinating maritime stories, many linked closely to this area; but we also have the chance to enjoy six wines on our imaginary cruise! What’s not to love!
“What I love about this event is that we get to try so many wines from around the world.
“We’ll begin with a glass of Prosecco, as if the Captain’s waiting to take you on board.
“And then when we go through and we ‘launch’, we’ll have a glass of sparkling wine. We’ll talk to you all about sparkling wines and if you’d like to ask me any questions that’s fine, that would be fantastic.
“And then we’re going to our next port; and then our next port; and our next port.
“In all we’ll have six wines, and they will represent the countries we are visiting that Peter will be telling us about via the cruise ships.
“Our final wine will be a glass of fizz and that is when we will all stand up and raise a toast to the people who we have heard about through the talks; through our own childhoods and growing up in this area; and we will say ‘thank you very much’ for being who you were – ‘cheers!’
About Peter Elson and Jane Clare:
Fizz & Ships events are a collaboration between two journalist friends: Jane Clare of One Foot in the Grapes who writes about wine, hosts wine events and teaches wine qualifications; and maritime expert Peter Elson of www.elsonshippinglines.com
Peter has received a British Maritime Writer of the Year Award from the Princess Royal and the Merseyside Civic Society Award for his campaigns about Liverpool’s historic architecture.
Fizz & Ships testimonials:
“It was amazing! We absolutely loved it! Good history and excellent wine knowledge. It was such a fabulous night.”
“A stonkingly great gig of drink, local history and laughter!”
“Jane is a wonderful personality, whose style is infectious and her passion and knowledge about the subject is always obvious.”
“Peter has a ship’s chest full of the most amazing and hilarious seafaring stories, with fascinating pictures bringing them to life.”
“The two hosts work superbly together making a highly entertaining evening. I’ve never been to anything quite like this before.”
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