Winemaker Notes
No, it’s not sweet! Fermented with zero residual sugar, this outrageously aromatic (lychee, roses, honeysuckle) white wine is bone dry. Brisk, clean and grapefruit-y, it’s an ideal companion to spicy food.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
With aromas and flavors of lychee, white rice, and vanilla pudding, this white is off to a cheerful start. Acidity zeroes in on lemongrass and minerality, freshening the palate while leaving a trace if powdered marshmallow. Tart tangerine peel lingers on the zingy finish.”
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Wine Enthusiast
This fragrant, extroverted wine shows the typical litchi and rose petal aromas followed by a dry, tangy palate and rather light body for the varietal. This is an agile, balanced Gewurztraminer, perfect with appetizers, oysters and charcuterie.
Gewürztraminer, an expressive and aromatically distinctive white grape variety, is considered a noble variety in the Alsace region of France, and produces wonderful wines in the mountainous Alto Adige region of NE Italy. Generally this grape grows well in cooler regions and its natural intensity makes it a great ally for flavorful cuisine such as Indian, Middle Eastern or Moroccan. Somm Secret—Because of a charming perfume and tendency towards slight sweetness, Gewürztraminer makes for an excellent gateway wine for those who love sweet wines but want to venture into the realm of drier whites.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.