April 5, 2018

Hive & Honey Gewurztraminer

I’m tipping my hat to spring, gardening, and pollen in this week’s blog.  Seventy-degree days are blending with forty-degree nights (completely normal for Atlanta this time of year), and occasional visits by rainy fifty-degree days.  It’s a beautiful time of year for head colds brought on by allergies.

Allergies in Georgia are the state’s secret weapon to weed out the weak and encourage survival of the fittest.  For a few weeks each spring, the entire state is covered in a yellow sheen of dust, clogging up sinus cavities, stimulating sore throats, and wreaking general havoc on every neat freak in the area.

But, it’s also time to start the garden (tomatoes, green beans, peppers, carrots, radish, swiss chard, and onions) and to plan the flower beds.  Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths have all come and gone for the most part.  Now we replace pansies (hardy winter flowers) with snap dragons, marigolds, and other summer flowers.

I love this time of year.  It’s warm enough to sit outside without it being too hot.  My patio chair, a glass of wine, and a good book are calling on my way home from work each night.

Gewurztraminer isn’t a common wine in the United States.  I’ll see it occasionally on menus, and can find it in larger wine store selections, but I’d miss it if I weren’t looking.  It’s a cold weather grape with a lot of nose and a lot of sweetness.  I’m good for about one bottle each summer.

You’ll smell a lot of flowers on the nose and a little bit of citrus – mandarin or lemon.  Flavors favor peaches. 

This is one of the wines that makes me think of home – the Great Lakes region of winemaking.  Wines there, made from cold weather friendly grapes, also lean toward sweeter wines.  (Although the last time I was home I found some very nice dry varietals.)

If you enjoy sweet, give this a try.  If you prefer dry, serve this alone while sitting on your back deck or with desert.  It’s a nice treat and something different from the every day.