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Wine Details
Price:
$16.00 per bottle
Description:
'Late Harvest' doesn't just mean 'sweet'; it also means that the grapes were infected with the 'Noble Rot', Botrytis cinerea. This rot, which grows in its 'noble' form only under certain conditions of humidity and temperature, rarely occurs in California. But when it does, wine made from grapes infected with it make the most wonderful wines in the world. This Gewurztraminer is a beauty - it has all the spicy charm of the ideoscratic and somewhat esoteric Gewurztraminer grape layered into and around the incredible earthy and organic characters of the Botrytis rot.
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Varietal Definition
Gewürztraminer:
Cultivated for over a thousand years, this white-wine grape (sometimes referred to simply as Traminer) is thought to have originated in the village of Tramin (or Temeno) in Italy’s Alto Adige region. Gewürztraminer grapes are planted in Alsace, a French region between Germany and France that specializes in excellent dry Gerwürztraminer wines. They’re also cultivated in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, Czechoslovakia, and Ukraine. Because they perform better in cooler climates, Gewürztraminer grapes have not done well in many of California’s warmer growing regions. However, they thrive in cooler California areas such as Carneros, Anderson Valley, and Monterey County, as well as in parts of Oregon and Washington. The German word ‘gewürz’ means ‘spiced,’ and these wines are known for their crisp, spicy attributes. They’re highly fragrant, with flavor characteristics of litchis, roses, and spices such as cloves and nutmeg. Gewürztraminer wines are available in varying degrees of sweetness -- dry, medium-sweet, and late harvest. Because of the grape’s pinkish (sometimes yellow) pigment, Gewürztraminer wines are some of the more deeply colored of the whites, many have gold or peach tones. The distinctive color and aroma of these wines make them easily recognizable by those familiar with this varietal wine.
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