Winemaker Notes
The perfect pairing with grilled fish, chicken or pork with fruitsalsa, Lunare is also fabulous with Indian or Thai curries, Asian style appetizers, and coconut shrimp or as a dry wine with fruit desserts.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Shows almost exotic fruit character, with dried apricot, pineapple, flowers and a light, fresh spice underlay. Full-bodied, with lovely fresh acidity and lemony freshness driving through the long finish. Powerful and fabulous.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Gewurztraminer Lunare boasts fabulous depth and richness in its varietal fruit. This shows marvelous intensity in a full-bodied style that comes across as just a touch heavy. As good as the Lunare is, I increasingly think Terlano’s top wines are not significantly better, more complex or more pleasurable than the mid-level range. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021.
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 mountainous northern Italian region heavily influenced by German culture, Trentino-Alto Adige is actually made up of two separate but similar regions: Alto Adige and Trentino.
Trentino, the southern half, is primarily Italian-speaking and largely responsible for the production of non-native, international grapes. There is a significant quantity of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot produced. But Trentino's native and most unique red variety, Teroldego, while still rare, is gaining popularity. It produces a deeply colored red wine rich in wild blackberry, herb, coffee and cocoa.
The rugged terrain of German-speaking Alto Adige (also referred to as Südtirol) focuses on small-scale viticulture, with great value placed on local varieties—though international varieties have been widely planted since the 1800s. Sheltered by the Alps from harsh northerly winds, many of the best vineyards are at extreme altitude but on steep slopes to increase sunlight exposure.
Dominant red varieties include the bold, herbaceous Lagrein and delicate, strawberry-kissed, Schiava, in addition to some Pinot Nero.
The primary white grapes are Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, as well as smaller plantings of Sauvignon blanc, Müller Thurgau. These tend to be bright and refreshing with crisp acidity and just the right amount of texture. Some of the highest quality Pinot grigio in Italy is made here.