Wine review: Glenora 2006 Gewurztraminer

Monday nights are always chaotic in my house, and I try to make it a little easier by planning a simple meal that can be whipped up in half an hour or less .Southwestern Eggs, a 15-minute, one-pan vegetarian recipe from Real Simple magazine, fits that bill, and it’s one of our favorite quick meals ever. If you like eggs, do try it. You just heat salsa in a pan, add eggs, and then garnish with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and chips. Yum. Here’s the dish:

I found a Finger Lakes Gewurztraminer in my wine rack that I thought would go well with the spicy quasi-Mexican dish. Gewurz is a cool-climate grape grown most often in Germany, and its name gives a clue to its flavor: “Gewurz” (there is supposed to be an umlaut above the u, but darned if I can get my blog program to do it) means “spice” in German, and typically Gewurztraminer has an overwhelmingly fragrant bouquet and flavor of roses, lychees, and spices. The only thing that saves it from being horribly flabby is its bright acidity due to the cool climate. Gewurztraminer is touted as the go-to wine for spicy Asian dishes, because its spice accents and its slight sweetness softens the spice of the food.

This particular Gewurztraminer was made by Glenora Wine Cellars in New York’s  Finger Lakesregion, which is basically smack dab in the middle of the state. Cool-climate varietals like Gewurztraminer and Riesling do well in this region, and the Glenora Gewurz is no exception. It’s bright, acidic, and elegantly spiced. The bottle was labeled as off-dry (meaning slightly sweet) but the acidity keeps it from being cloying. I smelled and tasted lychees and honeysuckle, roses and peach. It was a great match with the eggs, cutting the heat of the salsa, the creaminess of the avocado, and the salt of the chips.

Price: $16.99 (about prices)

Rating: Experiential (about ratings)