Peter Brehm recounts,

"GEWURZTRAMINER has always been my lucky grape. Maybe that is why I have placed pails of juice from these spicy bunches all around the United States."

My first encounter with this grape was when I made my third or fourth wine. I purchased a ton or two of Gewurztraminer grapes from the pioneering Rene´ di Rosa of Winery Lake. Sold most to fellow winemakers and made two carboys for myself. I fermented it cold in the laundry room refrigerator and then left the carboy bathed in sunlight to the point of concern. I shared it the following spring at a picnic at Winery Lake.

I was lucky.

The reaction of the local commercial winemakers at the picnic gave insight to what value well-grown, cool climate grapes are to winemaking. This was reinforced later with a best of show at the California State Fair.

I remain convinced of the value of expressive Gewurztraminer. Where this grape is grown in most of California, the ripening process happens under warm to hot growing conditions. When hot, as in fermentation, much of the aromatics are lost. The warm/hot exposure tends to affect the skin tannins and may create mouth feel best covered with residual sugar. It is not the grape's fault, it has been misrepresented. The Columbia River Gorge, in its coolest vineyard sites, produces world class Gewürztraminer. The grape's price is right. They can be Best of Show.
There are many different styles of wine possible from a pail of Gewurztraminer. Our commercial, cellar winery, Brehm Vineyards, produced a dry Gewurztraminer. It is not bitter, but does have vibrancy. The classic leeche nut character is present. The wine's acidity is crisp, and very functional with sausage and broiled potatoes. You will not find this characteristic with the Alsatian Gewurztraminer. One has to understand the differing climate constraints and generational timeframes when comparing the higher Columbia River A.V.A. with Alsatian vineyards growing Gewürztraminer.

Columbia Gorge Gewürztraminer prospers and ripens well with strong aromatics. It resists rot and yields reasonable tons per acre. The grapes are primarily dry farmed in deep volcanic soil. They grow in a wind draft above the wind surfers on the Columbia River. This air is like a river crossing the Cascade Mountains and sliding down the gorge. The air has been combed by the peaks of the Cascades and cooled by their high altitude presence. With a cloud tumbling gush, the cool air tempers the warm days on the east side of the mountains. This high altitude air is also dry. The incidence of rot and botrytis is extremely rare. Grapes take on a distinctive blush color similar to Pinot Gris (a clone of Pinot Noir) when ripe. Having obtained usable sugar, the grapes are selected for harvest when we determine the flavor and aromatics are at their peak. This peak happens at different sugar levels and grape phenolic maturity levels. The flavor being right gets the highest priority. Gewürztraminer as a healthy, well grown grape has low acidity. I add tartaric acid to my juice to achieve 0.7% when I begin fermentation.

The Columbia Gorge is a new viticultural area. In 1988 there were 5 to 6 vineyards in all the present CG A.V.A; one on Underwood Mountain and another on a ridge above the town of White Salmon. Today there is almost double that on Underwood Mountain alone. We are in the first generation of assigning plots of ground to particular varietals. Gewurztraminer has and is being planted on many prime, vineyard sites.

Alsatian Gewurztraminers may differ from Columbia Gorge fruit in having a noticeably lower acidity and a touch or more of Botrytis.

In Alsace you cannot add acid. If you test a whole bunch of Alsatian Gewürz, they will be low in acid and quite high in pH - no surprise. The grapes do not contain much acid when mature. There is often a touch of complication that combines with the grape's natural character. This often adds richness to the already lush feel. I speculate that over 800 some odd years ago the local farmers realized where they needed to plant their Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Muscat, etc. I fantasize that folks realized the Gewürz was a very early ripener and had good resistance to the elements. Riesling required the warmest, best vineyard sites. While the Alsatian climate is much more favorable for botrytis, the grapes may actually ripen later in the season. I imagine the farmer will eventually take his cooler vineyard sites and plant them to Gewürz. In the cooler vineyard location these grapes will ripen later in the year, but ripen predictably. The longer, later hang time in the vineyard increases the probability of some complication.

When the price of Chardonnay was very high and the price of Gewürz was even lower than now, I made a Chardonnay styled Gewürz wine for my mother.
I was lucky. She liked it.
The Gewürz was cold fermented with some exposure to French oak cubes, went through malolactic, sulfited and stirred the light lees up into the wine every two weeks.
I liked it to.

Other winemaking protocols can produce a stunning ice wine or spicy wine with a slight sweet finish. I recently bottled a 'Spicy White', dry wine in a burgundy bottle under the White Salmon Vineyard label. The wine is a blend of our White Salmon Vineyard grown Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer grown up Underwood Mountain. It is rich, complicated, fresh and vibrant. The two juices were blended in equal parts and fermented. They underwent malolactic fermentation and did receive an occasional stirring. Spicy White is alive in the mouth with good fresh acidity and a lush finish.

You should give it a try.

Call to purchase bottles of Spicy White or Gewurztraminer wine and see if you like it.

Get lucky yourself and buy a couple buckets of juice.

Have a spicy harvest,

Peter Brehm

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Brehm Vineyards Gewürztraminer label.

With harvested grapes we have the assurance and knowledge that:
o these juices have character and have produced fine wine
o these juices acidity, sugar and pH are known
o we know, unblended, these juices will require additions of:
o tartaric acid, yeast, yeast nutrient, bentonite, potassium metabisulfite, and maybe malic acid bacteria.
Please read 'Receiving frozen grape' listed on BV's home page, left column.

Gewürztraminer juices available shown below with recommended Tartaric Acid additions per pail (5.25 US Gallons / 20 Liters). Recommendations in grams and ounces.

#714 - 08CGGW : Brix 22.5° / TA 0.50 / pH 3.45 - Add 36 g / 1.25 oz

#510 - 07CGGW : Brix 22.5° / TA 0.52 / pH 3.61 - Add 36 g / 1.25 oz

#328 - 06CGGW : Brix 23.6° / TA 0.36 / pH 3.86 - Add 68 g / 2.4 oz

A great all purpose yeast is Lallmand DV10. If you do not wish a malolactic EC118 (prise de mousse), which hogs nutrients, is another alternative. Other yeasts such as BA 11, R2, QA23 and 58W3 are promoted as increasing aromatics during the fermentation.

It is important to rehydrate the yeast per instructions. The addition of the yeast to the juice should happen when the temperature differential between the juice and yeast are within 10° F.

Once the fermentation begins it is important to add 1/2 of the yeast nutrient needed for you fermentation, the second half is to be added at 14° to 12° brix.

Using Lallemand's Fermaid K 2.5 grams would be added to 20 liters once the fermentation starts and 2.5 grams more at 13° brix. Ferment cool with a steady, calm fermentation. Near the end of fermentation you will probably need to increase the temperature of the wine to maintain steady fermentation.

Once sugar is converted (0.3% or less by Dextrose Check) let the wine settle.

Rack the clarified wine into a carboy / tank where the minimal amount of the wine's surface area is exposed.

Wines to be made with out malolactic fermentation should be racked clean. pH should be checked and a healthy SO2 addition administered, probably about 50 ppm or 1.67 - 2.0 grams of potassium metabisulfite per 5 u.s. gallons. The addition of Lysozyme at this point will inhibit malolactic fermentation and is recommended. This may be about 9 grams of powdered lysozyme per 5 u.s. gal.

Wines to be made with malolactic fermentation should carry over some of the light, wispy sediment from the settled wine into the carboy. A freeze-dried or liquid malolactic culture should be added. Keep the wine at about 70° F. Stir the sediment into the wine every 14 to 20 days. Once the ML is complete take a pH reading and taste the wine. You want the wine pH to be no higher than 3.65. Adjust the acid to your taste, sample with .05%, 1.0%, and 1.5% tartaric acid added. You can keep the wine in the same carboy if there are no off aromas and continue stirring for another month. The addition of a few French oak cubes may be done anywhere along the way.

For both wines: there are natural proteins in both wines that can appear as snow flakes when subjected to warmth and cold. There are also ice type crystals that will form when the wine is chilled. The snow like protein is removed by fining with bentonite. The ice falls out naturally under cold conditions. The ice is cream of tarter and does not affect the taste or overall appearance of the wine. The protein can stop a bottle on the refrigerator's shelf, no dandruff please. All white wines need to be fined with bentonite. Make a slurry with the clay based bentonite a day or two before addition with about 5 grams of bentonite per 5 gallons. Let settle, rack clean, add final SO2 and bottle.

The procedure for the malolactic wine can be used in conjunction with White Salmon Chardonnay to produce the completely enjoyable Spicy White.

Excerpt from Brehm Vineyards Dry and Spicy Gewurz Recipe. "The Gewurztraminer Brehm Vineyards has sold over the last 22 years has received many awards, including the Best of Show at WineMaker Magazine's show a couple of years past. It has been a grape of terrific value. This 22-year tradition requires recognition that this varietal, grown under the proper conditions in particular soil, makes a wonderful companion with a wide range of food. Gewurztraminer likes life in the coolest parts of the Columbia Gorge. The varietal loses the intensity of its character when grown in warmer climates. It is an early ripening grape with a thick, rosé colored skin. Bunches are quite small with good resistance to rot. Early in the maturation process, Gewurztraminer loses its malic acid. Low total acidity juice is more usual than not." Click Here for Full Gewurztraminer Recipe.