Wine: Fetzer Valley Oaks 2004 Gewürztraminer (6 of 10)

6 out of 10

When I purchased the Valley Oaks Gewürztraminer at Sam's for about $5.50, I was very excited that I might have come across the newest Vintage of the Echo Ridge 2001 Gewürztraminer that I enoyed so much. Then, I looked at the bottle and realized that the "Valley Oaks" brand is different than the "Echo Ridge".

I have now learned that I was wrong (again) - Fetzer's website proclaims that all of their brands have been consolidated into this new "Valley Oaks" brand and the Echo Ridge no longer exists. That seems to be a pity, because this wine was nowhere close to as good as my previous experience with the 2001 Echo Ridge.

This wasn't a bad wine, it was average...and the $5.50 price tag is exciting when you realize that the average price on the internet is anywhere between $7 to $10 a bottle. Additionally, Wine Spectator listed the wine as one of its best values for summer with an 84 rating.

Liquorama says:

"The wine is a deep golden straw color, with a nose of dried apricot, spicy peach, with a touch of rose petal and honeysuckle. The crisp green apple, honeyed apricot and peach flavors meld with the traditional spicy flavors of Gewurztraminer. This medium-bodied wine`s off dry style strikes the perfect balance between its sweetness and bright crisp acidity. A versatile wine, it pairs nicely with spicy Asian cooking as well as grilled chicken and fish."

I'll go with that. I'll also stress the medium-bodied comment. Gewürztraminer is supposed to be medium-bodied, but whereas the Echo Ridge was full-bodied, the Valley Oaks is medium-bodied for medium-boidied and held on to a little more of an acidic after taste than I would have liked.

So, I am learning a little about my palate. I seem to like extremes - more sweet or more spicey; more full bodied or the most simple. For Gewürztraminer, it looks like I tend to gravitate to the sweeter taste which I think serves to mask some of the lower-end wine's after tastes.


Post script:
I wrote this entry and then came across this review at winegeeks.com. It made me very proud that I got so close their comments and their 5.75 out of 10 rating.

"Average -- Exactly what we'd expect to pay for a wine of this quality or stature."