Tonight was our next-to-last night in Christchurch, so we went out to
arguably the best restaurant here, The Bodhi Tree. This took on extra
significance as this restaurant is the only Burmese restaurant in New
Zealand and we arrived the day after the landmark elections in Myanmar
(Burma). With an outstanding dinner of shrimp in garlic, seasoned lamb
cubes and a very unusual green papaya salad, we got:

2009 Lawson's Dry Hills Gewurztraminer (14% ABV)
color: golden yellow
nose: lychees and rose water
palate: medium body, off-dry, balanced acidity, powerful fruit

What a marvelous expression of Gewurztraminer this was, and a challenge
to the wines of Alsace. It went beautifully with the food, most
especially the lamb (which had been rubbed with aromatic spices and
served with a delicate mint sauce). In the packed restaurant, virtually
every table had a bottle of wine at it, but ours was the only Gewurz in
evidence. I couldn't have asked for a better wine with dinner, though.

Mark Lipton