1998 Handley Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley

[Master_Yoda]

-My wife and I sat down with a spicy chicken burrito and sampled a bit of Gewurtz that we were told was outstanding. I must say that I was disappointed. The melon flavor of the wine almost overwhelmed the food and after the food was gone, the sweetness was a tad bit consuming. No tannins whatsoever. I could be biased, I like dry gewurztraminers.

Master Yoda

[Innkeeper]

This is an area of food matching that is somewhat controversial. One school says you did the right thing. That the sugar in the wine should cool down the spice in the chicken. The other school says it would be better match one from Alsace that is almost bone dry. The theory here is that the spice in the wine would match with the spice in the food. Your experiance seems to throw rocks at theory one. Try one from Alsace next time, and see if there is any difference.

[Thomas]

To my taste sweet Gewurztraminer is often insipid and that might have a lot to do with its high ph and low acidity. In Alsace they produce interesting late harvest Gewurztraminer, but they have figured out a way to balance a low-acid grape with high alcohol and lots of spice. I suspect additions of tartaric, but Alsatians say they never do such a thing...