VARIETAL WITH FUNNY name seeks affection from wine lovers eager to spice
up their lives.’ Yes, gewurz wants a little more understanding and commitment
than it’s currently getting from consumers.

It’s easy to see why. Gewurztraminer’s demonstrative flavours have been derided by some as being too showy and confronting. (Suffice to say some other varietals would he happy to have even a half of gewurz’s personality.) There are also widely held perceptions that it’s usually cloyingly sweet (it isn’t), and hopeless in partnering food (nothing could be further from the truth). This latest Cuisine tasting once again revealed that a small number of dedicated Kiwi wineries produce some truly terrific expressions of gewurztraminer.

“The best examples harnessed the variety’s flamboyance to well-crafted structure,” said panel chair John Belsham. “These wines are a credit to both the variety and New Zealand’s aptitude for it.”

TASTING PANEL

The riesling tasting panel also tasted this NZ gewurztraminer tasting