Night of Gewürztraminer

If there ever was an argument for living in the heart of a wine region perhaps this is it. After naming Gewürztraminer the variety of the month we set up an impromptu tasting, which in a matter of hours escalated from three wines to seven. To add to the epicness of the night, one of the six tasters actually made two of the wines himself, and to top it all off we brought six open bottles to a Chinese restaurant to be merry. I’m still not sure how we managed that.

The winner of the seven wines was pretty clear to all of us, and it is potentially the best white wine I’ve ever had the honor of trying. For something around $30 the 2007 Domaine Weinbach Reserve Personnelle Gewürztraminer from Alsace is about as good as it gets. It’s just an awesome beverage experience, and one that too few people ever get to know.

The Night's Winners

The second most praised wine of the night came from a location I never could have guessed – New Zealand. Yep, the world’s Sauvignon Blanc factory has managed to pump out a great Gewurztraminer – this one grown on the North Island in Gisborne. Decanter magazine actually named this wine, the 2003 Vinoptima Gewürztraminer Ormond Reserve, the best new world white in 2005; saying, “As good as top Alsace grand crus”. At $50 though the choice is pretty clearly in favor of the Domaine Weinbach, but I’m still in awe of how interesting Gewürztraminers can be.

The 2007 Pacific Rim Gewürztraminer which Eric and I tasted in the above video became quite a stink bomb two hours after opening. Eric described it lovingly as, “like West Highland White Terrier Diarrhea after eating Hormell chili”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Something just wasn’t right there – and at $10 I’m tempted to buy another bottle to see if it was an isolated case.

The 1997 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Gewürztraminer is still holding up, and is actually tasting better right now than it did last night. I have to moderately disagree with Eric’s assertion to drink all whites young, as some of them can become quite interesting with age. It’s a crap shoot though, and I probably would have enjoyed this wine more in 2005.

We also had our friendly neighbors to the north represented with the 2008 Lake Breeze Vineyards Gewürztraminer from British Columbia. Despite a relatively weak showing this wine did show the potential for Canadians to make better beverages than that beer they make… can’t think of the name.

There’s hardly a better way to open up “Gewürz until it hürts” month. From the Okanogan to New Zealand one has to wonder why this grape is not more popular. The Terroirists are beginning that movement now.

Variety of February: Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer would probably be much more popular were it not so damn hard to pronounce. (Say it with me – “guh-VERTZ-trah-mean-er”) It does, however, have the distinction of being the only commonly found grape variety with an umlaut (I don’t consider Müller-Thurgau commonly found). The name is derived from “gewürz”; German for “spiced”; and Tramin; a town of Northern Italy where the grape is believed to have originated. The main region to look for when it comes to Gewürz is Alsace. This area in far-eastern France produces what is probably the world’s best dry to sweet Gewürztraminers.

Not Actually Gewurztraminer

Why is Gewürztraminer the variety of the month for February? I don’t know. What I do know is the white wine made from this grape is usually a good choice for pairing with Asian cuisine. Unfortunately the grape has a sweet reputation, although many excellent dry examples exist. Some sweetness works well with the spiciness of Asian food, however, so it’s not all a bad thing.

Throughout the rest of February keep an eye out for Gewürztraminer reviews and insights, and until March rolls around be prepared to become Gewürzified.