The only disadvantage to having a wine cellar is that bottles can get put
away for so long that you forget where you got the wine. A couple of weeks
ago, I bought up a bottle of Geyser Peak Gewürztraminer, a California wine.
If I hadn't read the label, I would have sworn it was from Germany; it had
the distinctive taste of a German wine, what I call a straw aftertaste.

The next time I was at the wine store, I asked for more but they said that
Geyser Peak got out of the Gewürztraminer business and was now making
upscale wines. They recommended a couple of other brands, but neither has
that German taste.

What is it about German wines that makes them taste that way? I would
suppose that the California vintners use the same grapes. Is there a
distinctively German yeast that imparts the flavor? My wife thought that the
other vintners might be purposely toning down the German-ness of their
Gewürztraminer as it might not be that appealing to the wider market.

Paul

I doubt it's the yeast, the weather is gawd awful for grapes in
Germany and too forgiving in California most years. There is a theory
that the struggle enhances grape quality, maybe that is what you are
noticing.

The Germans are very good at getting the best out of what they have,
they have been at it a while too. The pricing on German wines for
what you get is great in the US, it makes no sense to me. If Gewurz
is not upscale I don't know what is by the way. I always thought it
was a noble grape too.
Regards,
Joe


"Pavel314" > wrote in message >...
> The only disadvantage to having a wine cellar is that bottles can get put
> away for so long that you forget where you got the wine. A couple of weeks
> ago, I bought up a bottle of Geyser Peak Gewürztraminer, a California wine.
> If I hadn't read the label, I would have sworn it was from Germany; it had
> the distinctive taste of a German wine, what I call a straw aftertaste.
>
> The next time I was at the wine store, I asked for more but they said that
> Geyser Peak got out of the Gewürztraminer business and was now making
> upscale wines. They recommended a couple of other brands, but neither has
> that German taste.
>
> What is it about German wines that makes them taste that way? I would
> suppose that the California vintners use the same grapes. Is there a
> distinctively German yeast that imparts the flavor? My wife thought that the
> other vintners might be purposely toning down the German-ness of their
> Gewürztraminer as it might not be that appealing to the wider market.
>
> Paul

"Pavel314" > wrote:
> > What is it about German wines that makes them taste that way? I would
> > suppose that the California vintners use the same grapes. Is there a
> > distinctively German yeast that imparts the flavor? My wife thought that the
> > other vintners might be purposely toning down the German-ness of their
> > Gewürztraminer as it might not be that appealing to the wider market.

Whilst yeast has an impact, mesoclimate and viticulture play a *much*
more significant role in determining grape flavours.

(Joe Sallustio) wrote:
> The Germans are very good at getting the best out of what they have,
> they have been at it a while too. The pricing on German wines for
> what you get is great in the US, it makes no sense to me.

The better German wines are certainly good value for money. I would
attribute it, like many merchants and wine writers, to a lack of
popularity amongst consumers (due to such things as Liebfraumilch
giving German wine a bad
reputation) and the terrible situation that the German appellation
laws have been in since 1971.

Ben