Posts Tagged“gewurztraminer”

Standing Stone Vineyards Vertical Gewurztraminer Tasting: As Unique as the Grape

The wine tastings at Standing Stone Vineyards are hardly typical, but then again, owner and winemaker Marti Macinski isn’t your average wine industry professional. A former lawyer with a degree in piano performance and philosophy, Macinski purchased the winery with her husband Tom in 1991; they’ve been making wine since 1993. On April 1, Standing Stone conducted a vertical gewurztraminer tasting, featuring six wines from their library: 1995, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008 and the recently-released 2009. With 9 of us seated in the main tasting room around a low picnic table outfitted in a white tablecloth, it felt more like…

Anthony Nappa Wines 2010 “Spezia” Gewurztraminer

We get back to regular programming post-holidays with one of the wines I enjoyed most during our brief hiatus — Anthony Nappa Wines 2010 Spezia ($18) a gewurztraminer for gewurztraminer lovers. Spezia is Italian for “spice” — and this is a wine that delivers a heaping pile of varietal character. Bursting with complex aromas of tropical fruit, peach, gingery spice, and rose petal the nose also features a grapefruit-spice-herb note that is reminiscent of some heavily-hopped India Pale Ales I’ve enjoyed. Though hefty at 14.6% abv, the dry, mouth-filling palate wears that alcohol well, offering a melange of tropical fruits…

Corey Creek Vineyards 2010 Gewurztraminer

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Though once near-sister wineries, the Corey Creek Vineyards label has been almost entirely absorbed by the mother Bedell Cellars label over the past several years. The chardonnays, cabernet francs and roses all wear the Bedell label now, but one holdout — at least for now — is the Corey Creek Vineyards 2010 Gewurztraminer ($35), a wine that is often one of my favorite Long Island gewurztraminers. Pretty honeysuckle and rose petal aromas are backed by lemon-grapefruit citrus, gingery spice and a hint of classic lychee nut. The lychee and spice qualities are a bit more…

Martha Clara Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief High residual sugar and pineapple-flavored wines aside, Martha Clara Vineyards, one of the largest on the North Fork, seems to be on the rise from a quality standpoint. They have winemaker Juan Martinez-Micieli, formerly of Shinn Estate Vineyards and Pellegrini Vineyards, to thank for that. He's working to steer this large ship in a better direction. His Martha Clara Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer ($19) is one of, if not the best the estate has produced and the key to this wine's success is balance.  The nose offers classic lychee aromas with candied orange peel, lime zest and…

Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Gewurztraminer

By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher Gewurztraminer is the sometimes-forgotten grape of the Finger Lakes, often playing a distant second fiddle to riesling. But if you find yourself touring any of the lakes' 100+ wineries, you will find a lot of good, and sometimes great, Gewurztraminer. Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Gewurztraminer ($16) shows why Gewurzt is one of the most aromatic grapes around. The nose is effusive with pineapple and apricot fruit aromas mingling with ginger, spice and white flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with apricot, pineapple and spice flavors. The acidity is fresh, balancing the light residual sugar well.…

Red Newt Cellars 2007 Curry Creek Vineyards Gewurztraminer

By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher I had a feeling that the new Gewurztraminers from Red Newt Cellars would illicit a response from a few readers. I just knew that some people would have a negative reaction to the prices, regardless of quality. The price of New York wines — the truths and the myths — is another topic for another time (and soon) though. Today, I want to tell you a bit about the other single-vineyard Gewurztraminer made in 2007 by Dave Whiting at Red Newt. After much deliberating, I can now say that Red Newt Cellars 2008 Curry…

Red Newt Cellars 2007 Sawmill Creek Vineyards Gewurztraminer

By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher When I heard that Red Newt Wine Cellars was releasing two single-vineyard Gewurztraminers, I was intrigued. Did the two vineyards really warrant separate bottlings, or was it a marketing ploy along the lines of "reserve" labels? And when I heard they were price at $36 and $42, I'll admit that I even thought to myself "Have they lost their minds?" Now that I've tasted them, I can say definitively that yes, the two vineyards (in 2007 anyway) led to distinct wines worthy of single-vineyard labeling. Are the prices exorbitant? That's really up to you,…

Cautiously Raising a Glass to Single-Vineyard Finger Lakes Wines

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent Some of the best winemakers in the Finger Lakes are now making vineyard-specific wines, providing consumers with more information about what they're drinking, and allowing consumers to compare the different qualities delivered by different sites. Sounds like exactly what the Finger Lakes needs, right? Well, to a point. First, the good news: Many of the single-vineyard wines released from the 2007 vintage are intensely distinctive, and they stand as the model for what single-vineyard wines should be. They come from a perspicacious trio, three winemakers who prioritize site selection. LENNDEVOURS readers already know about…

Sheldrake Point 2007 Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is a love-it or hate-it sort of grape. I love it. Nena — most of the time anyway — hates it. The sometimes-overwhelming rose petal perfume that the grape exhibits turns her off. But Sheldrake Point's 2007 Gewurztraminer ($20) is one wine that we both enjoyed during a recent tasting of New York whites. A brilliant medium straw yellow in the glass, the nose is only lightly floral — rather than overwhelmingly so — and is spicy and gingery with classic lychee and pineapple aromas. Make sure that you don't over-chill this wine, or the beautiful aromas will be…

Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Reserve Gewurztraminer

Too often the descriptor "food wine" is used in a negative way, used to describe wines that aren't all that pleasing on their own. This is, of course, preposterous, and is just a way for writers to soften the blow when writing reviews of mediocre wines. Wine is meant to be enjoyed with food. At least it should be. Saying that a wine needs food, should be a given. This Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Gewuztraminer Reserve ($25) doesn't need food, but it sure does shine with it (or at least it did with the green Thai curry chicken and zucchini…