Thomas Fogarty is one of the few good california wineries between San Francisco and Montery Bay. Nestled at the top of the coast range with an incredible view of the Penninsula, Fogarty churns out consistently good to excellent wines at decent prices, at the direction of winemaker Michael Martella, creator of the Martella “Hammer” Syrah, which I’ve written about here before.
One of the wines they are known for is their Gewurztraminer, which I have tasted in previous vintages as well. They make it (thankfully) in a European style, which means that at the most it has .5% residual sugar, which means it is drinkable for people like me who have an aversion to sweet wines.
Tasting Notes:
So clear and colorless it hardly registers as a pale straw, the wine has a wonderfully fragrant nose of green apples, lychees and honeysuckle. The wine is tart with acidity and very refreshing. The mouthfeel is cool and clean with flavors of apples, lime, and alfalfa. There is a buttery flavor that also creeps in after more than one mouthfeel, as if the wine has seen some oak (it hasn’t). Overall, the wine was less dry than I would like — despite the low residual sugar, a little too sweet.
Food Pairing:
This would be a great wine to accompany chow fun with barbecued pork and snow peas or any other Chinese style dish with sweet and spicy elements.
Overall Score: 7.5
How Much?: $11
This wine is available at K&L, or at other wine merchants online.