Pierre Sparr 2009 Alsace Gewurztraminer

Straw color, greenish tint.

Room-filling perfume, smell of roses and gardenias, lychee.

Off-dry flavors of ripe apple, canned peach, floral notes.

Very good medium-bodied bottle, $17.88. I seek, though, a regular supply of a drier Gewurztraminer even knowing that it may end a bit bitter.

Dr. Konstantin Frank 2007 Finger Lakes Gewurztraminer

Pale golden color.

Sweet baked apple smell. Gardenias.

Off-dry apple flavor, acid builds to the end.

Very good medium-bodied wine, if a little sweeter than I like in a Gewurztraminer. $19.47/bottle.

Rene Mure 2007 Alsace Gewurztraminer Tradition

Rich golden color. Petillance forms on the glass after half an hour or so.

Ripe floral aroma, mineral, lazy bumblebees buzz in the flower garden on a warm summer day.

Off-dry spicy baked apple flavor, quite petillant, warm at the finish. There's a degree of bitterness at the end that I find surprising in so sweet a Gewurztraminer.

My preferences in Gewurz are either quite a bit drier than this or quite a bit sweeter. Still, it's not entirely fair to downrate a well-made bottle for a style that's appropriate for the variety but not much to my taste. A good value for $18.67 for those who prefer an sweeter Gewurztraminer style, and the smell is wonderful, but personally I'm unlikely to buy it again. I must admit, my acceptance increases near the bottom of the bottle.

Muller-Catoir 1989er Gimmeldinger Meerspinne Gewurztraminer Auslese

Medium golden-tan color, "I'm Brown, from the Sun," the long-set sun of 1989's summer in a bottle. Quite a few tartaric acid crystals. Still Spritzig after all these years: petillant bubbles from on the walls of a glass of this 21-year-old wine.

Smell of tangerines, honey, peaches, distinct hints of roses. There'd be a market for this perfume,I think!

Tannic taste of sweet iced tea, honey, mango, and tangerine.

Outstanding bottle for $59.99, but I doubt you'll be able to buy an example (or that I'll be able to buy more. I cherish those that I have.) Time has been kind to it, but I doubt it will improve further.

Kendermanns 2007 Gewurztraminer QbA

Very pale color, petillance forms on the glass.

Floral/fruity smell, gardenia and peach.

Off-dry peach, apple, floral flavors.

Very good bottle for $14.99.

Fetzer Vineyards 2008 California Gewurztraminer Valley Oaks

Rich golden color, green highlights.

Fresh clean floral smell, the first deep breath as you enter the florist.

Ripe fruit, sweet apple and peach, pear and petillance on the tongue.

At $12.95 a bottle, cheap and cheerful fun.

Pannonhalmi Apatsagi Pinceszet 2007 Pannonhalmi Tramini

Deep golden color. Petillant bubbles form on the glass.

Smell of lychee, geranium, tropical fruit, baked apple, roses, hints of citrus peel.

Apple flavor, black pepper, peach, some citrus peel bitterness at the end, expected in a quite dry Gewurztraminer. Warm alcohol finish that detracts from perfection, but not terribly.

An excellent bottle for $15.99, my first dry Hungarian wine. This strikes me as very much like an Alsace Gewurztraminer.

The winery's notes on this wine.

Hogue 2007 Columbia Valley Gewurztraminer

Very pale straw color, cloudy with a lot of petillance.

Smell of not-quite-ripe grapefruit.

Sweeter-than-offdry apple flavor, tongue-tingling petillance.

I'll not buy this again. I recognize that Gewurztraminer needs some residual sugar to overcome an inherent bitterness, but this is like soda. $12.50 wasted.