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When we started this column five years ago, there were times when we thought we were the only people in town who knew that a Gewürztraminer was not a type of German motorcycle.
But that changed quickly. By our second or third year, Dan noticed that the local grocery chain’s wine selection featured at least 10 Gewürztraminers, and most of them were from huge, mass-marketed wineries. Clearly, the little white wine with the unpronounceable name was going mainstream.
Nowadays you can find it anywhere, you can call it “Guh-vertz” and people will know what you’re talking about, and – best of all – it’s still mostly a good-tasting, high-value wine, no matter which one you grab off the shelf.
We picked eight brands of Gewürtz you’re most likely to see locally and invited over Journal Gazette Assistant Metro Editor Joyce McCartney, Journal Gazette business reporter Marty Schladen and Venus Bush and Robin Crawford, who both work at Elmhurst High School, for a blind tasting.
So what is Gewürztraminer? It’s much like Riesling, only it generally is not as sweet, usually has more acids so it goes better with food and often has wonderful mineral flavors.
Sometimes it can even be spicy, and before Gewürtz became so common it was often known as “challenging” because of its acidity, complexity and spice. We tried one at an Ohio winery six years ago that was so challenging we had a really hard time with it. Looking back, maybe it just wasn’t very good.
The first wine we tried was a brand we’re never had before, Firehose 2006 California Gewürztraminer ($8.99). It had just a touch of sweetness, balanced by lots of acidic pink grapefruit flavors. It was light and refreshing but not simple by any means.
“It’s not as sweet and doesn’t have that tinfoil flavor (that Riesling sometimes has),” Marty said. “This would be a good summer wine. I’m a fan.”
Venus really liked it, too.
“I like it because it does remind me of a Riesling,” which is one of her favorite wines, she said. “I do like sweet wine, but this is not too sweet.”
Next up was one we thought would be a ringer when we picked it, Cuvée Anne-Laure 2006 Vin D’Alsace Gewürztraminer ($17.99) from the Alsace region of France, where they’ve made it for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, even though it was not by any stretch the oldest wine in the batch, it was clearly past its prime. We suspect it had sat too long in a hot warehouse or on the store’s shelf under fluorescent lights. Instead of being the most expensive wine of the tasting, it should have been on the clearance rack. It wasn’t terrible but had much more honey flavor than you would expect in a Gewürtz – which comes from old age.
“This one is different,” Robin said. “It starts out good, but there’s an aftertaste.”
After that was Oliver Vineyard & Winery 2006 Gewürztraminer ($10.99), which we usually find to be a slightly more complex version of Oliver’s award-winning Riesling. This time it was a little sweet and a little simple but still balanced and easy going enough that Krista called it “chuggable.” It would be a good wine to enjoy on the back porch on a hot summer day.
Then came Chateau St. Jean 2004 Sonoma County Gewürztraminer ($13.99), which was Dan’s favorite. He thought it smelled rustic and was much rougher around the edges and much more interesting than the others, with a hint of something like the herb woodruff, used in May Wine. And even stranger for a white wine, it had an incredibly long finish – almost 30 seconds. Krista, however, didn’t care much for it. While she liked the flowery beginning, she found the finish to be bitter.
“Of all of them, this one strikes that balance for me,” Joyce said.
Next came Columbia Winery 2007 Columbia Valley Gewürztraminer ($9.99), which had the hallmarks of lots of acid and was the spiciest one of the bunch. It was sweeter than most, but the sweetness was balanced by lots of acid.
That was followed by Chateau Ste. Michelle 2006 Columbia Valley Gewürztraminer ($8.99), which had lots and lots of acid but not much else.
“It gives you a sour taste I didn’t like,” Marty said.
For Robin, it was easily her favorite, and a happy surprise because Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Riesling is one of her favorites.
“It’s not too sweet. It’s not too dry,” she said of the Gewürtz. “I could sit up and drink this and have a good time.”
Then we had Blackstone Winery 2005 Monterey County Gewürztraminer ($11.99), where the sweetness was not balanced out by acids, making it flat and flabby. Dan called it sweet and simplistic – what we fear Gewürtz will become if it gets any more popular.
For sweet-wine drinkers, however, this could be just what you’re looking for. Venus really liked it.
“It’s still not as sweet as I prefer, but I would buy a bottle of this,” she said.
Finally, we had Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks 2007 California Gewürztraminer ($6.99), which got mixed reviews. Dan found it interesting and complex with just a touch of honey flavor. Krista found it too sweet and almost syrupy. Still, it smelled lovely.
“Oh I like this one,” Marty said. “I like the flavor.”
We often tell people not to be afraid of wine, even if you can’t pronounce it. That’s especially true with Gewürztraminer, since nobody can pronounce it. And this tasting proved – with just one out of eight that we would take a pass on – that chances are good that no matter which one you grab, at whatever price, you’ll find something worth buying.
Cheers!
