Spring is in the air here on the West Coast, and I am looking forward to spring wine releases!
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to attend a virtual tasting at Poplar Grove. This spring tasting was led by Chris Holler and Winemaker, Stefan Arnason; more on these new releases coming soon!
Tantalus is also set to release new vintages. Among their new releases will be the 2018 Old Vines Riesling. This release will take place on April 1st and no, this is not an April Fool’s joke!
Another release I always look forward to each year is from Wild Goose Vineyards. They generally release their Gewüztraminers in the late spring or early summer. The 2019 vintage is currently on sale at BC Liquor Stores for $16.49 until March 31st.
2019 Gewürztraminer $16.49 (Regular $18.49)
Grapes for this wine were sourced from vineyards throughout the Okanagan Valley. The grapes from each vineyard were processed and fermented separately. Each wine was then tasted blind and the top three were selected to blend for this vintage.
The 2019 Wild Goose Gewürztraminer has fairly pronounced aromas of rose, gala apple, yellow grapefruit, fresh baked apple pie, ginger and crushed gravel. This is an off-dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity. The palate offers rose, ginger, apricot, baked apple and baking spice with a long finish.
I paired this wine with a delicious meal from An Indian Affair in Langley, BC. The meal included Vegetable Pakora, Fenugreek Lamb Curry, Naan, Vegetable Samosa, Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice. The delicious 2019 Gewürztraminer from Wild Goose made for a great pairing. This wine has enough residual sugar to mitigate the spice, higher acidity to cut through fats, and a pronounced palate to stand-up to this flavorful cuisine.