5 ways to determine what's in a barrel: -->

1. Look
2. Tap with sharp object
   1. (recommended before wine tasting)
3. Tap with blunt object
   1. (recommended after wine tasting)
4. Set barrel on fire
5. Perform barrel sampling

The Story of our Gewurztraminer; (Old wine in new bottles)

In 2006 we were lucky to receive some wonderful grapes, the juice color expressed like pink grapefruit and the aroma was spicy, rich and heady. It looked to make a promising wine. Imagine our disappointment when by mid-year after it was bottled, it was clear the wine was not living up to its promise. In the bottle, it had become spare, brittle and bitter and, like a spoiled child, was throwing temper tantrums (otherwise known as complex proteins). This, plus the fact fact that nobody could say the name made it a drag on the market. The winemaker decided it was worth the effort to dump everything that was already bottled back to the bulk tank to try and recover the wonderful complex characters first observed in the fruit. The wine was resettled out, this using an old German technique whereby lees were readded and then removed by proportion over time to retain the flavors. It was then treated to pecticenzymes and an infusion of unfermented sugars. The acids were readjusted. The result was amazing, a clear, bright and flinty, slightly sparkling Gerwurz in the classic style that has a strong melon mid-palate, and the slightest hint of spicy bitterness that is balanced by the slight residual sweetness. Still, nobody can say the name, but the wine is now a real little treasure so the wine and the name are both well worth the effort of getting your tongue around.

1.5 % residual sugar. 13% alcohol.

Re-released: November 2008