Columbia Winery Gewurztraminer 750ml

Winery: Columbia Winery

Varietal: Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is a highly interesting grape varietal, as the fruit is normally a dark blushed pink in color, often veering towards purple, yet it produces highly elegant white wines prized in its native central Europe and elsewhere around the world. The Gewurztraminer grapes contain quite a high amount of natural sugars, resulting in wines which are 'off-dry' and give the impression of sweetness, without being classed as actually sweet. What this grape is most noted for, however, is its remarkable flavors: highly perfumed, full of notes of rose water, Turkish delight, lychees and other aromatic fruits. Despite being notoriously difficult to grow, the Gewurztraminer grapes have such unique and fine qualities that many wineries continue to persevere with these fickle vines, and their popularity is expected to continue growing in the future.

Region: Washington State

The popularity of fine red wines, made with classic Old World grape varietals, has continued to increase in the United States over the past few decades. Washington state has consistently impressed with their red wine grape varietals, and many of the most popular American red wines of the past twenty years have come from this unique and interesting state with its two distinct regions. The vast majority of Washington's wines come from the arid eastern half of the state, a semi-desert irrigated by the rivers which run through the area, with considerably fewer wineries found in the wetter western side. Washington is renowned for the production of strong, fruit-forward wines made with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and other varietals, with many fine white wines being produced there also.

Country: United States

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.