Villa Wolf/Dr. Loosen Gewurztraminer 2011 750ml

Winery: Villa Wolf/dr. Loosen

Varietal: Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is renowned for being a particularly tricky grape varietal to grow and cultivate, but is one which plenty of wineries persevere with due to its unique properties and excellent flavors The vines themselves are highly robust, and can even be unruly when in the correct type of soil, but they cannot grow well in terroirs which contain chalk or other similar components. They are also extremely susceptible to a wide range of diseases and rot, and due to their early budding and fruiting, they cannot survive frost. However, despite these problems, in cooler climates and on the right terroir, the Gewurztraminer grape varietal produces wonderful results quite unlike any other vine. The pink grapes are packed full of elegant and sweet flavors, their relatively high sugar content offering a light sweetness alongside floral notes, perfumed and aromatic aromas, and a distinctive taste of lychees.

Region: Pfalz

Germany's thriving wine region of Pfalz is the second largest in the country, and is generally considered to be one of the finest regions for Germanic style wines in the world. The warm and sunny climate of Pfalz is exceedingly similar to that of Alsace, and many of the same fine grape varietals can be found flourishing there in the mineral rich, fertile soils which typify the region. With a history stretching back to the Roman times, Pfalz has long been a center for traditional viticulture, and that spirit of doing things the 'old fashioned way' remains to this day. With over twenty five thousand hectares of land under vine, Pfalz succeeds in being a large scale producer of wines, whilst keeping quality levels and distinction high, and whilst maintaining a tradition of excellence and elegance.

Country: Germany

Much has changed over the past few decades in regards to German wine. Long gone are the days of mass produced, sickly sweet white wines which were once the chief exports of this fascinating and ancient wine producing country, and they have been replaced with something far more sophisticated. Whilst Germany continues to produce a relatively large amount of dessert wine, the wineries of the south of the country have reverted their attention to the production of drier, more elegant wines which really make the most of the fine grape varieties which flourish there. Many of the wineries dealing primarily with the excellent Riesling grapes have produced some truly exceptional dry and semi-sweet wines over the past few years, and it seems the world has finally woken up and noticed the extremely high quality of the distinctive produce coming out of Germany today.