This article presents our findings on tasting a German
white wine, more precisely a Gewurtztraminer from the Baden
region of Germany. This is the southernmost German wine
region; the one that includes the famous Baden-Baden
resort. While Gewurtztraminer is a popular white grape
variety, it hasn't been planted much here. If you like
trivia, you'll be interested to know that while the average
German drinks 32 bottles of wine a year, Baden residents
exceed a bottle a week at 53 per year. When you read our
review maybe you will know why.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review
are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Baden Gewurztraminer 2007 11.8% alcohol about
$9
Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting
Note: Pale yellow color; floral/spicy aromas; soft
semi-sweet fruit flavor; persistent finish. Serving
suggestion: Oriental buffet; smoked salmon; mildly spiced
foods. And now for my reactions.
This wine has a very pleasant floral aroma; it is acidic
and slightly sweet. You could easily drink this wine on its
own. The first meal included a chicken leg marinated
overnight in a sauce with dates and onions and then baked.
Side dishes included butter squash, sweet potatoes, and
pumpkin cooked in olive oil and Italian spices. The wine
was not imposing but had a very pleasant taste that was
somewhat floral. I already know that there is no way that a
drop of this Gewurtztraminer will go down the drain. For
dessert I had a piece of cherry strudel, unfortunately the
end piece. And the wine became more acidic. Overall, it had
quite a nice length.
The next meal consisted of a cheddar cheese omelet with
sides of jalapeno hummus and a commercial oriental tomato
salsa. Now I found the wine long and tangy, clearly tasting
of green apples. It was just a tad sweet. In the presence
of the salsa the wine weakened but remained round. It was
able to stand up to the spicy hummus. At first I didn't
enjoy it with some fruit juice candy but as time went on
the pairing improved.
My final meal was centered around green peppers stuffed
with rice and ground meat, a combination of chicken and
beef. The wine was light and yet mouth-filling. It had a
good length. By the way, a sharp eye and/or taste buds
could distinguish between two somewhat different types of
green pepper, one more bitter than the other. And our
liquid chameleon was able to adjust itself to match the two
types.
I ended the bottle with two local cheeses. In the presence
of a white Muenster the wine was round and refreshing with
just a tiny bit of acidity. When paired with a yellow
Cheddar it became somewhat more forceful and a little
sweet. I finished the remaining wine with a high-quality
chocolate-covered ice cream bar. The wine didn't lose its
sweetness or acidity, but frankly these two fine products
did not mesh.
Final verdict. This wine is a keeper. Sooner or later I
want to go another round, expanding the pairings.
----------------------------------------------------
Over the years Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten
computer and Internet books, but really prefers drinking
fine German wine, along with friends and the right foods.
He teaches sundry computer classes at an Ontario
French-language community college. Visit his global wine
website http://www.theworldwidewine.com with a weekly
column reviewing $10 wines and new sections writing about
(theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines.
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