A wonderful Gewurztraminer

A recent tour of the Niagara region brought Fran and I to the doorsteps of many (some might say too many) wineries. We concentrated on those wineries in and around the Niagara on the Lake area, as they are in close proximity to our "pied à terre".
Furthermore, my tasting focused on the whites of the region for many reasons not the least of which is I am a strong believer that Niagara is meant to produce whites and ice wines and dare I say not reds (In my humble opinion.)
Of the many many whites we sampled one stands out as exceptional. A wonderful gewurtz from a small producer, Palatine Hills. I am the first to admit I had never heard of them prior to my visit and thanks to our Inn keeper at Down Home Bed & Breakfast (www.downhomeniagara.ca),we were pointed in their direction.
Upon arrival at the winery and still in the parking lot we were greeted by sounds of glee and joy from within and thought "this bodes well for our visit".
We were warmly greed by Bry (pronounced Bree) who happily took us on our tasting adventure.
The third wine tasted was a 2010 Gewürztraminer and much to my delete it actually tasted like a gewürztraminer, unlike many of like-named wines in the region. To many producers tend to blend their gewurtz with other varietals such as riesling, but I say "let a gewurtz be a gewurtz". The tell-tale aromas of lychee were subtle but present and the flavors of melon and tropical fruit were wonderfully subtle as well.As is usual with me when I sample a gewurtz and as described in my blog intro, I was transported back in my mind to a small town in Alsace. This wine will be enhanced with food and will certainly go well with moderately spicy Thai foods.
Jeff Innes, the wine maker, was on site and we had a wonderful conversation about wine making and wine in general. He enjoys talking straight about his wines and appreciates all feedback.
The 2010 I tasted is not yet available (but I have a bottle now) but a previous Vintage is available at the LCBO.
For those of you looking for a reason to drive to Niagara on the Lake, I highly recommend a stop in at Palatine Hills Estate (www.palatinehillsestatewinery.com) for a tasting and chat with Jeff Innes.

Cheers,
Here's wishing you all wonderful "Liquid memories"
Allan