The StoryThe Flora and Stone Gewürztraminer is a non-vintage dated $4.99 ALDI exclusive wine sourced from vineyards in Monterey County AVA in the Central Coast AVA of California. Normally, $4.99, non-vintage, and a store brand would be a cause for concern, but I did a little digging and there is more to this wine than that. The company listed as the producing winery, Pacific Bay Vineyards, seems to be a Trademark owned by a large, well-respected Winery headquartered in Mendocino. That Winery just happens to make a well-received Gewürztraminer that sells retail for just a few dollars more than the Flora and Stone. The Gewürztraminer grape is not widely planted in the US, a couple of AVAs in California and some cool weather grape growing regions sprinkled throughout the United States.Gewürztraminer is a grape that is reminiscent of Moscato but isn't necessarily sweet. ALDI's description of the wine says it will pair well with grilled meats with fruit sauces and will also do double duty with dessert. So, this looks like a White wine that will do well accompanying the Thanksgiving feast. The alcohol content is 12%.The Tasting NotesThe color is a pale butter yellow and it is slightly effervescent. The nose is ripe and almost sugary, there is orange slice candy, grapefruit, lemon cough drops, pear, peach, orange blossom honey, and melon. The nose suggests a sweet wine, so on to step 3. This is a wine that seems like it will be a sweet wine, but never quite gets there. It is probably classified as an off-dry wine, but there is a balanced unexpected in a $4.99 wine. It tastes of lemon/lime soft drink (not sweet), tangerine, honey, peach, apricot, soft candy spice, and dried pineapple chunks. There isn't much of a mid-palate, but with all the flavor upfront it isn't missed. The finish is full and does not let go.The Summary The Flora and Stone Gewürztraminer is a very tasty White wine. It isn't a full-blown sweet wine and I am not typically a fan of sweet wines, but I think this wine is a crowd-pleaser. Normally it is the acidity in White wine that keeps me reaching for another sip, but the acidity here is not that pronounced. I guess I'm reaching for more because it tastes good. Yes, this will pair well with white meat turkey and cranberry sauce and it will do well with a slice of pumpkin pie.
Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com
or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com
