Okay. Aromatics.
Officially, they are the three classic white wines from the French and, or German region of Alsace: Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer.
The political history of the Alsace wine region has been a literal tug-o-war between Europe’s major powers for centuries. Since 1870 France has run it. Then Germany. Then France. Then, return service - back to Germany. And finally … back to France. Could have saved themselves all the bother, really. This cool northern European region produces white wines with intense fruit flavours and aromas – hence the name – ‘aromatics’.
Riesling is the wine that some people love to hate. The bad press goes way back to some pretty awful sugary sweet style Rieslings from the 1970s and early 1980s: wines like Blue Nun Liebfraumilch and Black Tower. These were cheap, mass-produced wines in quirky bottles which caught the imagination of newbie wine drinkers and for many years thereafter branded Riesling as a god-awful sweet wine to be avoided at all costs.
Here in New Zealand, as in Australia we now tend toward the dry end of the spectrum, producing wines that are crisp, fruity and dry or just slightly sweet (off-dry).
And that’s not to say that Riesling can’t shine as a sweet style when the grapes are left on the vine till they are extremely ripe and full of
natural fructose sugar. Taken to extreme, these wines are called Late Harvest (very ripe and shrivelled) or Noble Riesling (affected by a fungus called Botrytis, which sucks out the water content and leaves very sweet concentrated juice with a honeyed taste).
In fact, I’m a big fan of the new wave of medium to sweet Rieslings – where the true nature of the grape is revealed as a luscious, fruity wine with honey, lime and apricot flavours, plus good cellaring potential. Food matches – think seafood (scallops, prawns, white fish).
The predominant character of Gewürztraminer (Ga-vertz-trah-meaner) is its spiciness. Often with hints of Turkish Delight, rose petals, apricot, ginger in syrup, and cinnamon. This is why Gewürzt is so often recommended as a good match for spicy food. But when you think spicy – think mild spice with not too much chilli. Some hot spicy dishes contain so much chilli that you can’t taste anything. The style of wine produced from the notoriously unreliable pink grapes, can be anywhere from dry and flinty through to musky, oily and sweet. New Zealand shares some of the Northern European cool climatic conditions, and has Gewürztraminer plantings in regions as diverse as Central Otago, Marlborough, Gisborne and Hawkes Bay.
In the early Eighties Gewürzt was a bulk produced, sweet easy-drinking lightweight style, which suited the unsophisticated palates of young wine drinkers. Today, it represents a tiny amount compared to the most popular wine varieties. Just the same, they are worth hunting out for their subtlety of flavour and spicy nuances.
Pinot Gris seems to have come out of nowhere, to be the fashionable white wine both here in NZ, and also overseas. The grape is a mutation of the Pinot Noir family and like other Pinots, is described by its colour. In French, Gris (grey) - or in Italian, Grigio.
Again, as with the other two aromatics – you never know quite what you’re getting. Pinot Gris can be anything from dry, flinty and delicate – to sweet, full bodied, and complex. Basically, it pays to read the back label if you want an idea of how it’s going to taste.
In Europe – Germany, Alsace, and Italy the best Pinot Gris are oily, sweetish, full-bodied luscious wines. And some of our best NZ examples are coming from Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago.
Increasing plantings here have made it our fourth most planted white after Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. But even so, Pinot Gris accounts for only around 4 percent of our national vineyard. Typical flavours to expect: poached pear, stewed apples, honeysuckle, stone fruit, lime & lager. For food matches, I would highly recommend seafood, even in preference to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Ripe sweet fruit and background acidity are a perfect match for crayfish, scallops, crab, and most NZ white fish.
Recommendations:
Pegasus Bay Waipara Riesling 2007 $26
Medium to sweet, crisp ripe and lush. Fantastic.
West Brook Late Harvest Riesling 2003 $39
Grapes picked late in the harvest – full of natural sugars, ripe and raisiny, with flavours of honey and apricot jam.
Woollaston Nelson Pinot Gris 2008 $18
Newly released – complex and lush flavours of citrus, pear and melon.
Ti Point Hawkes Bay Pinot Gris 2008 $20
Big flavoured, ‘lager & lime’, with balanced acidity.
Dry River Lovat Gewürztraminer 2008 $40
Iconic NZ wine from Martinborough. Flavours of rose petals, and Turkish Delight; perfectly balanced. Spicy with great length of flavour.
Ascension Gisborne 2008 Gewürztraminer $29
From boutique north Auckland Matakana producer.
Again, floral aromas of rose petals, with Turkish delight flavours and a medium crisp finish.
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