Every now and then, I am reminded that the wine business is exactly that—a business. Although I enjoy the weekly deep dives I do about these various wineries and uncover some fun stories, the underlying truth is that for wineries to survive, they need to make money. It is almost unheard of for a small, privately owned single operation to be sold nationwide, never mind worldwide, with the associated cost and still be able to keep the price down. This is never more evident when looking for a reasonably priced Pinot Noir that tastes good. The problem starts with the grape itself; it is low-yielding, prone to disease and rot, needing high maintenance to grow properly, and finicky. By finicky, I mean it can only grow in certain climates, not too hot or cold, not too dry or wet, and the soils need to have just the right mineral content to get the proper authentic, pure Pinot Noir flavors. The old adage that to make a small fortune in winemaking you must start with a large fortune, has never been more true than in making Pinot Noir. The trick in locating good-tasting, reasonable-priced wines is to find them as part of a larger privately owned wine group, with a well-financed owner that lets the individual wineries do what they do best, which makes good wine.

In 2009, Bill Foley, of Foley Family wines, after his successes with California portfolio, which included Ferrari-Carano, Chalk Hill, Chalone Vineyard, Lincourt, Acrobat, and many more, turned his eye to New Zealand. In looking for new properties, Foley looks for wine companies that are doing well but, in his view, can do better with an infusion of cash and can benefit from synergy with the rest of his wineries. His search led him to purchase New Zealand Wine Trust Ltd., which includes Vavasour (which also makes the Dashwood brand), Goldwater, and Clifford Bay. All good quality brands, but they showed great promise for the future.

Vavasour was founded in 1986 and was the first to plant in Marlborough's smaller, cooler Awatere Valley. The risks of being the first in the valley meant they had the pick of the best sites. Not only were they the first to plant Sauvignon Blanc, but also the first to plant Pinot Noir. That risk was rewarded right from the start: intense layers of flavor declared a unique presence that demanded international attention. In 1989, Vavasour created Dashwood wines, named after the winding road that connects the premier winegrowing regions, the Wairau Valley, known for its driving fruit flavors, and the smaller Awatere Valley that offers complexity.

There is no better witness to the rise of Awatere wine than Vavasour/Dashwood Chief Winemaker Stu Marfell. Born and raised in the Awatere Valley, Stu has witnessed its exciting transformation from quiet pastoral farming to a celebrated appellation. Stu joined the team in 2003 as Assistant Winemaker, becoming Chief Winemaker in 2007. Stu has since been awarded 'New Zealand Winemaker of the Show' at the New Zealand International Wine Show in both 2018 and 2022.

Dashwood, like all Foley Family wines, is a leader in sustainable farming. After being stewards of the land for over thirty years, it is their home, and they strive to minimize or eliminate any activities that are wasteful or harmful to the environment so that future generations can continue to enjoy the extraordinary landscape. They also use bottles made from recycled local glass rather than coal-powered glass produced in China. There are over 50 solar panels on the winery roof, reducing the grid's need for energy and even giving back energy throughout the year. Sheep have replaced tractors to keep the grass down between the vines and help naturally fertilize the fields. They have even gone as far as to print their labels on a product made of highly renewable sugarcane.

Returning to my original question of how do you find a good-tasting Pinot Noir at a reasonable price? The answer is complex yet pretty simple. Find a wine family with very deep pockets, that is in the wine business to create quality wines, not contrived wines. Foley Family Wines owns 24 wineries around the world that are entrusted to make the best wine possible. Dashwood Wine keeps the costs down by using mechanical picking, vineyards paid for 30 years ago, and utilizing the infrastructure of the Foley Family. The bottom line is Dashwood wines are so good because the Foley Family doesn't know any other way to make wine.

Grapes are harvested from Marlborough's two winegrowing valleys, the Wairau Valley and the Awatere Valley. They are immediately destemmed and put into stainless steel tanks for an extended cold soak prior to fermentation. Pressed to mature with French oak for 11 months prior to blending & bottling, this wine is a true representation of the place it comes from.

With every step of the wine-making process, our goal is to preserve the incredible aromatics and scintillating structure of our wines. After harvesting, we keep the fruit as cool as possible to retain bright, fresh Marlborough fruit flavours. Gentle crushing helps to preserve the personality of the variety and the influence of the site. We use traditional hand-pruning techniques during fermentation to extract optimum color and soft tannins. Our Pinot Noir aged in French oak barriques to add complexity.

Bold, fresh, direct, elegant, and balanced, our Dashwood Pinot Noir displays a dark ruby red colour and inviting aromas of cherry, raspberry, and wild strawberry. Red fruits carry to the generous and juicy palate, with hints of spice and smooth, elegant tannins giving the wine length and poise.

Dashwood Pinot Noir 2020

I gathered a group of true Pinot Noir drinkers to help me analyze this wine. My first concern was ensuring the wine was 100% Pinot Noir. Less expensive Pinot Noir sometimes adds other grapes into the blend to round out an otherwise weak wine, like Syrah. But this wine is pure Pinot, as we could tell by the medium garnet color with a medium opacity, as it should be—aromas of strawberry and red fruit. Flavors continued in the mouth of strawberry-rhubarb pie, cherry cola, cranberry tarts, integrated tannins, and lively acid to keep the wine structured. This is real, quality, pure Pinot Noir that is really good. At $15.99, this is a great value Pinot Noir. At a final cost of $11, I challenge you to find a better bottle of Pinot Noir. If you are a true Pinot Noir lover, this wine should be on your regular shopping list. At $11 a bottle, it is time to load up.

Regular Price: $15.99

*Sale Price is on 12 bottle purchase

There is a $24 Mail-in-Rebate for 12 bottle purchase

Final cost is $11.00 after MIR

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Let me know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, I will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.

Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.

I will confirm your order via email when it is ready for pickup. Please give us at least 48 hours to respond.

Cheers!

—John Hannum, Fine & Rare Wine Specialist

Attleboro

628 Washington St.

Norwood

942 Providence Hgwy.

Sturbridge

376 Main Street.

Swansea

207 Swansea Mall Dr.

Monday-Saturday

9AM to 9PM