While we weren’t scheduled for any excursions we did go and briefly explore the grounds off the port landing in the Dominican Republic.  The island is rather unique in that it is known as Hispaniola and has two sovereign nations; Haiti (French) and the Dominican Republic (Spanish) and is the second largest island in the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean.  The immediate area that we were in, was definitely what I would call a tourist trap consisting of local cuisine restaurants and bars, plenty of souvenir shops, a Macaw photo op center, and an apothecary or druggist shop with the largest advertisement for “now available without a prescription Viagra.”  I also found out later, from others that went into the souvenir shops that they were selling assorted plates, trinkets and what-nots that showed the entire island while omitting the fact that Haiti was also part of the island.

After returning to the ship later, we met up with some others as it was our only other night of non-premium dining.  They bundled four nights as a special, and then you could eat at some of the casual dining spots, or you could go to the better locations and pay an additional premium.  We met at one of the two locations across from each other, that we went to every morning for breakfast, and it was always a lovely breakfast and the perfect way to start the day.  We started our dinner off with Shrimp Cocktails in a classical interpretation and we both had New York Strip Steaks with assorted sides.  We had Bodegas y Vinedos de Aguirre Morpho Helena Malbec DO Valle Central Chile 2020.  I could find basically nothing about this winery, other than people mentioning that they encountered the wines on cruise ship.    The Central Valley (El Valle Central) of Chile is one of the largest wine regions in Chile.  The region is noted for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as many Bordeaux style blends.  Malbec was planted in this region, before it was planted in Argentina.  The wine is a dark ruby and offered notes of blackberry, black cherry, sous bois and tobacco.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine had tones of black cherry, currants and herbs with high acidity, strong tannins and a medium finish of terroir.

We actually, both indulged with a liquid dessert of Inniskillin Icewine Reserve Vidal VQA Niagara Peninsula 2023.  It made us think of our two trips to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada.  Inniskillin is best known for their Icewine offerings.  They were the first winery license in Canada since 1929 when they finished the winery in 1975.  Their first vintage was in 1977, but it was in 1984 when they started achieving fame with naturally frozen Vidal grapes.  The process they use differs from the process in Germany, but others in the area have now duplicated their success as well.  The fruit is harvested at night, when eighty percent of the water content in each berry is frozen.  The grapes are pressed while still frozen and the juice is highly concentrated, though with yields that are approximately fifteen percent of an average grape harvest.  A deep golden colored with notes of marmalade, candied pineapple, mango, apricot and honey.  On the palate this full-bodied wine offered tones of pineapple, tangerines and brown sugar with crisp acidity and a nice long finish of candied fruit.