WTN: Two Greeks, Napa Cab, Sparkling Gewürz

2003 Lazaridis Macedonia Amethystos (Greece) 12.5% – [blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Assyrtiko and Sémillon] smell tropical pineapple, bit of lime, very nice nose, mouthfeel perfectly light, gliding in, taste intense, dry spicy acidity, beautifully accomplished light feeling yet thicker texture, peppery and refreshing, an absolute delight, went phenomenonally with spicy and salty spread of Greek foods, this wine rocked

1998 Cava Papaioannou Corinth Cabernet Sauvignon (Greece) 12.5% – smell plum, prunes, chocolate cake, mouthfeel smooth, sensual tannins, taste tart plum upfront, simple until wonderful tannins of spiced cocoa roll in, tasty, tasty wine, grainy and textured, wonderful mix of tart, yet bright flavor and wonderfully oh-so-slightly abrasive texture, would gladly revisit this wine—wonderful with spread of Greek foods, also nice on its own; very interesting as I had this same wine a few months ago and had a totally different experience--predominantly tart orange juice--the other wine felt like a mess, but this one worked really nice, bottle variation, perhaps?

2003 Ehlers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (California, USA) 14.8% – appears beautiful reflective deep maroon, slightly see-thru, smell simple slight raspberry, lots of pepper, some pecan pie, spicy simplicity, mouthfeel quite dense and quite smooth, taste black pepper obvious upfront, but quite pleasant and integrated, very very drinkable, slight leather lurking and the wine has a meaty depth to it at times, cool on tongue and best feature was quite refreshing doses of tart cherry, made wine very drinkable and refreshing, a rather simple wine that went well with a simple meal of steak, new potatoes and spargel hot off the grill; that said, not worth the price (US$30) but supposedly the money goes to some good-cause foundation

2004 Harvest Moon Estate & Winery Russian River Valley Gewürztraminer Brut (Sonoma County, California, USA) 12.5% – appears light pale yellow, bubbles of many sizes, smell sweet herbs, watermelon, slight on the nose, mouthfeel big bubbles, waves, softens into delicate yet crisp wine, very sexy mouthfeel, taste very soft, slightly sweet fruit, strawberry, incredibly tasty yeasty center, long-lasting finish of flower petals and lime rind, tasty—feels like sandwich with bitter greens, strawberry, and dry white bread, for the first 3/4 of the bottle, the wine kept this profile and was an incredibly interesting and tasty wine, for the last quarter, however, the wine descended—didn’t quite fall apart, but became a much more typical sparkling wine, the outstanding features faded, paired incredibly well with alpinskäse [sp?]—a buttery, soft cheese

Sparkling Gewurztraminer - now that would be an experience - so long as you share it with friends and just have one glass from the freshly opened bottle, each.

Funny about names - I would have exected Amethystos to be a purple gem coloured wine.

Funny about names - I would have exected Amethystos to be a purple gem coloured wine

Sue Courtney


Me too!

Sparkling Gewurztraminer - now that would be an experience - so long as you share it with friends and just have one glass from the freshly opened bottle, each.

Based on my experience, I'd say that's the way to go.

I would have exected Amethystos to be a purple gem coloured wine.

That's interesting because I actually asked my friend about the name--as I don't know much Greek mythology. Evidently the story goes something like Dionysus was drunk and looking for action. Amethyst was an attractive nymph who prayed to be turned into stone to protect her chastity. Dionysus saw what he did and wept, and his tears turned the stone purple. And amethyst was therefore incorporated by in wine vessels by the Greeks to prevent drunkenness.

I would have exected Amethystos to be a purple gem coloured wine.

That's interesting because I actually asked my friend about the name--as I don't know much Greek mythology. Evidently the story goes something like Dionysus was drunk and looking for action. Amethyst was an attractive nymph who prayed to be turned into stone to protect her chastity. Dionysus saw what he did and wept, and his tears turned the stone purple. And amethyst was therefore incorporated by in wine vessels by the Greeks to prevent drunkenness.

I know that story about the amethyst wine vessels - but seems a strange name for a white wine - maybe the poetic translation is more revered in Greek. Drink this amethyst-named wine- you won't get drunk! Hmm, I wonder if it works.

Cheers,
Sue

2004 Harvest Moon Estate & Winery Russian River Valley Gewürztraminer Brut (Sonoma County, California, USA) 12.5% – appears light pale yellow, bubbles of many sizes, smell sweet herbs, watermelon, slight on the nose, mouthfeel big bubbles, waves, softens into delicate yet crisp wine, very sexy mouthfeel, taste very soft, slightly sweet fruit, strawberry, incredibly tasty yeasty center, long-lasting finish of flower petals and lime rind, tasty—feels like sandwich with bitter greens, strawberry, and dry white bread, for the first 3/4 of the bottle, the wine kept this profile and was an incredibly interesting and tasty wine, for the last quarter, however, the wine descended—didn’t quite fall apart, but became a much more typical sparkling wine, the outstanding features faded, paired incredibly well with alpinskäse [sp?]—a buttery, soft cheese

How long was that bottle opened before the wine crashed?

How chilled was it at the start?

Final question ... how much did it cost?

Thanks -- Clark

How long was that bottle opened before the wine crashed? - 1.5 to 2 hours.

How chilled was it at the start? - Fridge temperature, took few minutes in glass to warm to drinking temperature.

Final question ... how much did it cost? - $36 at the winery