| OCTOBER
2004 SELECTIONS
"I made wine out of raisins so I wouldn't have to wait for it to age"
- Steven Wright
My Grandmother is over 80 and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle"
- Henny Youngman
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Most people think of Gewürztraminer as the sweet
white wine with the unpronounceable name. Originally from Germany,
Gewürztraminer is pronounced 'ga-VERTZ-trah-MEE-ner' - the name
means spicy grapes.
Although often made sweet (it makes outrageously
complex late harvest dessert wines) the most food friendly and complex
Gewurtz's are dry, and tend to complement foods with a spicy nature
of their own, like Asian and Indian cuisines.
An ancient variety believed to have originated
in the Alto Adige region in northern Italy, it is most identified
with the cooler vineyard regions in Alsace and Germany. Thin skinned
and difficult to grow, it requires specific microclimates and soil
types to reach its full potential of perfumey and aromatic wines.
In New York, Gewürztraminer is respected as
one of the noble grapes that the Finger Lakes grows best, along
with Riesling. And Long Island is beginning to turn out superlative
versions as well, albeit with their own style. Unfortunately there
is precious little released each year, but here are three that will
knock your socks off;
Pinot Noir, the great red grape variety of Burgundy, "queen of red grapes," is nothing short of nourishment for the soul. Pinots have a pure and clear nature, with solid structure and a transparent face that expresses an incredible emotional character. Good Pinot can have an alluring perfume of violets and cherry blossoms, an elegant vivacity and finesse that lends the wine a kind of poetic beauty. It has lower tannin levels than other red varieties, so it often takes on a velvety softness unmatched by any other red grape. The Finger Lakes is New York's most promising region for Pinot Noir with its well-drained shale and limestone soils and relatively cool climate, which prevents this early ripening vine from maturing too quickly and preserves its delicate structure. The delicious wines that derive from this region show that Pinot truly belongs there.
Like the tale of the old one armed widower who
lives in the abandoned (haunted?) house on the edge of town, these
wines only sound scary. In the "spirit" of the season, we offer
these three different styles of frightfully delicious blood red
wines.
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