Winey Tasting Notes: Cruising With Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc

The Winey Family (minus the Winey Son because he took his own spring break trip with his buddies) has recently returned from a wonderful spring break cruise. Yes I said “cruise”.. and don’t start with  me. No, we didn’t get sick, the boat was fine, the toilets worked and all was well. If I sound a bit defensive it’s because whenever we say we’re going on a cruise, someone has to crack a phrase about all the bad things that have happened on cruise ships. I’ll put it right out there: we love our big boats! Icky things happen on any vacation – on water or dry land. I know it just makes a better story when you can report on a whole boat full of people getting sick than if you report on the fact that someone’s daughter and niece threw up in the car the entire 6 hour drive to a family ski trip. (Yes, I speak from direct experience here.)

OK, I’ll stop now. What I really meant to do was to tell you all about my winey experience on board The Explorer of the Seas (Royal Caribbean, if you want to know). Now, I realize that one of the first things that comes to mind when you say cruise is FOOD.  And with food comes wine. At least in my winey world it does. And there is absolutely nothing like the experience of heading to a formal dining room, being served by some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet on the high seas, eating amazing food and getting to choose a new wine every night. BUT this time, I stopped choosing a new wine after two dinners. And that’s because I discovered Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc (2012, Marlborough, New Zealand, 12.5%). This is so not me. But it was so good that I ordered it again and again. It helped that I was usually eating seafood, which pairs so well with a Sauvignon Blanc! I did switch to a red for one evening, but we were eating lamb and I just had to. In fact, every night when we’d show up in the dining room our assistant waiter would look at me and say “Dashwood?” All I had to to was nod!! How much easier could it be? Oh right, they could open the bottle and serve it to me in a chilled wine glass to make it easier. Oh wait. They did.

The Winey Daughter and I with our wonderful waiters!

The first thing to hit you with this wine is a very aromatic bouquet of lime, kiwi, sea air and minerals. The taste was all juicy and tart with just a teeny hint of sweet in there somewhere. I would compare it to drinking a key lime pie. The flavors roll through your mouth: first is the lime, then lemon then a bit of kiwi. It finishes off with some green peppers (kind of a surprise, but it worked after all that fruit.) Crisp and lively – it was one of the best New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I have ever had. I am going to add it to my favorites. I paired it with silver corvina (a white fish) one night, scallops another night and with the on board show almost every night. ahem.

If you like a tart, refreshing white wine, go ahead and buy Dashwood. It’ll run anywhere from $10-$12 and is an amazing buy, in my winey little opinion.  It’s readily available, and with warmer weather on the horizon, I’d say stock up on this one!

Cheers!