*** Chez Ray Summer White 2010 – Homemade Wine Tasting & Review

Posted by Ben in 2010, General, Other, chardonnay, gewurztraminerAug 3rd, 2010 | No Comments Chez Ray Summer White 2010 is a blend of two just-fermented wines made from frozen grapes from Brehm Vineyards... the 328-06 2006 Columbia Gorge WA Gewurztraminer and the 335-06 2006 White Salmon Vineyard WA Chardonnay.  Both were fermented cool - at about 60 degrees fahrenheit - using Cote des Blancs yeast.


The blend is 50/50, with 3 teaspoons sugar per 750 ml bottle.  Color is faint yellow with the merest of green hint.  The nose is sweet hay.  Served cool, this shows a first hit of tangy sweetness on the mid-palate.  Clean acids and light fruit support the sugar, creating a tingle in your cheeks.  I'd try again, so three stars on the Spirit of Wine scale.

**** Chez Ray Summer White Wine Blend 2007/8

Posted by Ben in General, Other, blend, botrytis, gewurztraminerJul 3rd, 2010 | No Comments This Chez Ray Summer White Wine Blend is a mix of one-half 2008 gewurztraminer (G8) and one-half 2007 22-degree botrytis chardonnay and chenin blanc (fermented dry from 2005 frozen grapes), combined with 2.5 teaspoons sugar per 750 ml bottle.

In the glass, it is light yellow with glints of green.  The nose has grass, hay and hints of sweet lemon.  On the palate, a tangy sweet middle shows first, with elements of grass and botrytis blending as it moves up into your cheeks.  The finish is clean and crisp, with moments of tropical fruit blending in with the mild, sweet acids.

Really, something to stick with on a pleasant summer's evening - four stars on the Spirit of Wine scale.

***+ Chez Ray Gewurztraminer, Columbia Gorge, Underwood, WA, 2008

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, gewurztraminerJan 23rd, 2010 | No Comments Find Columbia Gewurztraminer at WineZap. 

This Chez Ray Gewurztraminer 2008 white wine started life almost exactly one year ago as frozen grapes from Brehm Vineyards, specifically, this lot:

328-06CGGW - 2006 Columbia Gorge Gewurztraminer, Underwood WA (G8)

They were fermented with a 58w3 yeast, aged with a couple small slices of charred French oak, and bottled two weeks ago.  In the glass, this is a light yellow, with hints of green.

Poured cold and swirled vigorously, the nose is bright with sweet lemon and grass.  On the palate, the first note is almost a brisk lime spritz that hits the back of your mouth.  Robust acids draw it up and out into your cheeks.  Finish is clean and perky.  Three stars on the Spirit of Wine scale. 

This might actually want to be a lightly sweet wine, as some gewurz' tend to be.
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Testing the sweet-hypothesis, at a sweetness level of between 6-8 teaspoons sugar per 750 ml, Chez Ray Gewurztraminer earns a plus on its three stars for friendliness, without having lost its varietal tanginess.

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Updating this testing, four teaspoons sugar per 750 ml does a nice job just offsetting the acids with a light touch.