I was having a laugh with friends about some of the botched grape varietal pronunciations we’ve heard people come up with. Nothing mean spirited or elitist as I completely understand how intimidating and challenging it is to order a glass of Austrian red, especially when you don’t spend 10 hours of every day surrounded by wine bottles. I still feel shy with a fully Italian wine list in front of me, and forget about anything Greek. Compounding the confusion is the fact that it’s okay to anglicize certain varietals (like the “Blanc” following Chenin, Sauvignon, and Pinot which is almost always pronounced “blonk” instead of “blanh(n)”) and not others (say Merlot for instance). What’s up with that? No wonder outsiders see the wine industry as pompous – you’re expected to have a basic understanding of 5 languages to be able to read a wine list. Yet it always puts a smile on my face to hear someone order a glass of Vee-Og-Nur. Naturally the conversation lead to Gewürztraminer, which I find people tend to do shockingly well with. Here’s a few Gewürztraminers I tried this week…

Miguel Torres ’07 Santa Digna Gewürztraminer – Valle de Curicó, Chile

I was curious when I first tried this; it does have some classic Gewürztraminer characters such as perfumed, musk-candy, orange-blossom, but also with razor sharp acidity lending lime and grapefruit notes. Aren’t Gewürztraminers known for their lack of acidity? On the website, it looks like there is some sneaky Riesling added as well, which does a great job of balancing the rich, oily texture, with some very bright acidity.

Well made and decent value at around $16 (at private wine shops), we had it with some BBQ Salmon, scalloped potatoes and a cherry tomato & basil salad. Although not a perfect match, it definitely did no harm either. Available at Firefly.

Le Vieux Pin ’08 Gewürztraminer – Okanagan Valley, BC

Le Vieux Pin – known for their highly concentrated and highly priced Merlots, as well as their focus on organic and sustainably farmed grapes.  White flower, orange zest and rosewater. Not super oily and viscous and I’d say on the lighter end of the Gewürz spectrum, good concentration, with present and balanced acidity, and finishing dry. A little lingering heat in the back of my throat on the finish (somewhat expected from this grape), but overall quite good. There were only 318 cases produced, so I assume it’s a little rare to come by. $25 from the winery. Salt Tasting Room is currently pouring it by the glass.

Thornhaven Estates ’08 Gewürztraminer – Okanagan Valley, BC

I’ve been dying to try this wine for a while now. People tend to talk positively about it (including people like Jancis), but I hadn’t been able to get my hands on a bottle until Sunday. This wine is rich and viscous with a little sweetness. Spiced poached pears and butterscotch with an undertone of perfumed lychee, continuing on in a lovely lengthily finish. Not much in the way of acidity, but enough to keep it balanced. I highly recommend this to anyone in the mood for more of an off-dry style, and for $17.90 from the winery – it’s also great value. I believe I paid just under $21, again from Firefly.