Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Such a lovely wine that often gets unnoticed in the marketplace, even by the experts, the fragrant and beautifully vibrant 2013 Gundlach Bundschu Gewurztraminer is a wine for food lovers and all who appreciate all the flavors in the land. So many of us get wrapped up in the next great red wine while sipping away our layered and creamy chardonnays. Even I admit that I often forget about the off the beaten track varietals. This one is really worth your time. Richly textured and dry in the finish, can do really well with a five-spiced chicken. (Tasted: April 8, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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.