{"id":277,"date":"2015-02-06T02:41:02","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T02:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awaywego-origin.carnival.com\/?p=277"},"modified":"2023-06-30T18:41:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T18:41:30","slug":"navigate-wine-selections-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnival.com\/awaywego\/cruising-fun\/what-to-expect\/navigate-wine-selections-cruise","title":{"rendered":"How To Navigate The Wine Selections On a Cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having just completed and passed the first level Court Of Master Sommeliers<\/a> course, I\u2019ve unintentionally turned into a wine snob.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, I can still pick out a good bottle for ten bucks, but most bottom shelf wine just won\u2019t do it for me anymore (unless I\u2019m mixing it into a sangria recipe).<\/em><\/p>\n

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As\u00a0a\u00a0result, I really wasn\u2019t expecting to find many good wines on my recent Carnival cruise<\/a>.\u00a0 After all, wine is not typically served with a paper umbrella garnishing the glass, and most people crave something tropical and cold (with a splash of rum) while lounging around the pool or on\u00a0a\u00a0beach.\u00a0 Turns out, not only was I was wrong, but my entire concept of cruise dining has been completely flipped upside down and changed.\u00a0 In addition to normal cruise dining and buffets, there were restaurants.\u00a0 Lots of them.\u00a0 From a sushi bar<\/a> to an elegant steakhouse<\/a>, I was impressed to find such a variety of choices<\/a> offered intimate settings with personalized service.\u00a0 And, of course, they all had well-thought-out wine lists.<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s start with my first impression of wine on this cruise.\u00a0 Our ship, Carnival Sunshine<\/a>, had a quaint Library Bar<\/a> with an Enomatic wine dispensing machine, just like the ones in my favorite wine shop at home.\u00a0 It\u2019s like a vending machine for wine that allows you to pour only an ounce at a time so that you can get a small taste of multiple wines and choose one that you like before committing to a whole glass.\u00a0 Also, it\u2019s a great way to taste some higher priced wines without splurging on buying the whole bottle.\u00a0 Their selection was amazing, including a Vouvray (an off-dry French white), a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and a Barolo (one of Italy\u2019s greatest wines).<\/p>\n

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What I really loved about tasting wine at the Library Bar is that you\u2019re able to try a sample of a few different wines, pick the one you like, and then bring that card to dinner as a reminder and order it from the menu.\u00a0 They even have cute little \u201clibrary cards\u201d with tasting notes that say, \u201cI\u2019ve checked this out, and it deserves a spot at my dinner table.\u201d \u00a0 The price of a single one ounce pour ranged from $2.75 to $5.00, quite an affordable way to taste different types of wine (especially a Barolo!).<\/p>\n

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Now, there\u2019s really only one rule when it comes to choosing wine:\u00a0 pick what you like.\u00a0 Period.\u00a0 A sommelier can help you pair a wine style that you like with your meal so that the flavors of the wine and the food compliment and enhance each other.\u00a0 And this is really a lot more complex then sipping white wine with seafood and red wine with beef.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there was no sommelier on board for guidance.\u00a0 Our servers in the ship\u2019s restaurants were able to provide some good pairing tips, but our experience in the main dining room concluded that the servers there didn\u2019t understand too much about wine.<\/p>\n

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So, I\u2019d like to give you my list of recommend wines I found on Carnival to help you navigate the wine list and enhance your meal.\u00a0 I have a \u201csafe list\u201d of delicious affordable wines, and a \u201csplurge\u201d list of amazing, you-gotta-try-these-at-some-point wines.<\/p>\n

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Always go with what you like (white or red), but when it doubt, pick a pinot noir.\u00a0 It goes with everything because the flavors are subtle and they\u2019re typically low in tannins.\u00a0 A pinot noir could even be paired well with fish. Yet, they\u2019re also layered and complex which allows them to stand up to the meatiness of a steak.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s my list of recommended wines on Carnival:<\/p>\n

Safe List<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whites<\/strong><\/p>\n