Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Gewürztraminer "STV Estate Vineyard" was sourced from 20-year-old estate vines. It has 7 grams per liter of residual sugar and comes in at 13.7% alcohol. Showing just a bit off dry, this is fresh and lovely with fine aromatics, leaning more to rose petal than lychees. Finishing with a little spice and tang, this is simply lip-smacking good and more than a little appealing at the moment. It is less clear how long it will stay at peak, but I'm leaning up at the moment. It's a terrific bargain. There were 100 cases produced.
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Wine Enthusiast
Tropical mango and melon mingle elegantly into swathes of blossom and peach in this lush, juicy Gewürztraminer. It's lusciously textured, a bit brawny even, boasting creamy swirls of fruit that linger long and heavy through the finish.
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.
Increasingly garnering widespread and well-deserved attention, New York ranks third in wine production in the United States (after California and Washington). Divided into six AVAs—the Finger Lakes, Lake Erie, Hudson River, Long Island, Champlain Valley of New York and the Niagara Escarpment, which crosses over into Michigan as well as Ontario, Canada—the state experiences varied climates, but in general summers are warm and humid while winters are very cold and can carry the risk of frost well into the growing season.
The Finger Lakes region has long been responsible for some of the country’s finest Riesling, and is gaining traction with elegant, light-bodied Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Experimentation with cold-hardy European varieties is common, and recent years have seen the successful planting of grapes like Grüner Veltliner and Saperavi (from the Eastern European country of Georgia). Long Island, on the other hand, has a more maritime climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, and shares some viticultural characteristics with Bordeaux. Accordingly, the best wines here are made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Niagara Escarpment is responsible for excellent ice wines, usually made from the hybrid variety, Vidal.