Stonechurch Gewurztraminer 2005
Niagara Peninsula, Canada ($13)
It's amazing how many different countries are represented at any corner liquor store in New York City. In my neighborhood, which is predominantly Greek, I can choose from what seemed like hundreds of Greek wines that I know nothing about. I've even made a bunch of spontaneous and somewhat adventurous buys of Hungarian, Croatian, and Uruguayan (?) wines in the past few months. Most of these I wouldn't consider blogable as they aren't easy to find and weren't all that good anyway. One country I find next to impossible to locate in these stores is Canada.
My experience with Canadian wine has been focused on Niagara Peninsula wines. The wine trail just across the border from Niagara Falls is impressive, and combined with quaint towns like Niagara on the Lake, a visit to this area can provide a few days worth of tasting, sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The wineries range from sprawling estates to 10 acre farms with sheep and chickens in plain view. Stonechurch Winery lies somewhere in the middle, not to fancy and not to rustic. The Ontario region boasts some of the best icewine in the world as well as terrific whites and every so often delicious reds that are just as good as any New York State reds. Stonechurch seemed to turn out better whites as I found the Riesling and the Gewurtz to be worth buying.
This straw colored Gewurtz is extremely floral on the nose. Medium body with tropical notes and a mineral quality that almost borders on metallic. Very dry with some minor spice on the finish. It wasn't as good as I remember it at the winery but that always seems to be true for me. Perhaps I should try spitting every so often when tasting wines all day. Not bad but I lean prefer the late harvest Gewurtz from Konzelmann Winery in the same area. My grade: B-
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