Winemaker Notes
As beautiful as the single vineyard Gewürztraminers Red Newt bottles can be, they are opulent and bruising wines with a very loud personality. This version is made and blended in such a way that it is lighter, more refreshing, and with more fruit aromas as compared to rose perfume. A friendlier Gewürztraminer.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Intensely perfumed accents of orange blossom, white pepper and grapefruit ride over a ripe core of yellow apple and Mandarin orange on the nose. The palate is full and silky in feel yet honed by bright shots of juicy acidity and waxy apple peel. It’s a beautifully textured white that is only made more enticing by its lingering floral pink-peppercorn finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Gewürztraminer, a wine Red Newt and owner David Whiting have made since the 1980s, was sourced from Nutt Road Vineyard. It comes in with five grams of sugar, 5.3 of total acidity and 14% alcohol. The winery says it is picked entirely based on flavor ripeness to bring out "a rich, dry style." Whew. This is very aromatic, classic for the grape, but invigorating in its exuberance, nonetheless. Spice, lychees and all that aromatic jazz make this a fine representation of the grape at a very nice price. It should age pretty well too (see the note on the library wine, the 2008). There were 341 cases produced.
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.
As the most historic wine-producing region in New York state, winemaking in the Finger Lakes area dates back to the 1820s and today as a region, accounts for 90% of the state’s total wine production.
Its narrow and deep lakes created by the movement of Ice Age glaciers create an environment similar to the classic Riesling-loving regions of Europe, namely Germany and Austria. The Finger Lakes retain summer heat that incidentally warms up cold winter air, making it fall down from the lakes’ steep slopes. When spring comes, the lakes, already cooled by cold winter weather, stave off vine budding until the danger of frost has subsided. The main lakes of the zone, that is those big enough to moderate the climate in this way, are the focal points of prime vineyard areas. They include Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga.
While Riesling has fueled most of the region’s success, today Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc enjoy some attention.