Regional Wine Week - Drink Local First Hudson Valley

This week is Regional Wine Week. I am narrowing it down to Local Wine Week because  I am a big proponent of local wine.  This week I will do my best drink local Hudson Valley Wines and I hope wherever you reside you will seek out your local and regional wines.

In the spirit of "Regional Wine Week" I am going to talk about the Traminette grape. A little grape history - Traminette' is a late mid-season white wine grape which produces wine with pronounced varietal character likened to one of its parents, Gewurztraminer.  I'll be honest, when I first tasted traminette about 5 years ago it thought it was skunky.  That may have been because the vines were very young but now as the vines have matured and the winemakers have perfected their Traminette winemaking skills, it has become one of my favorites.

I know of 4 wineries in the Hudson Valley that produce Traminette; Whitecliff, Palaia, Benmarl and Applewood.  I just happen to have a 2010 Whitecliff Vineyards Traminette and recently opened it.  This grapes in this wine came from both Whitecliff Vineyards and fruit from the Finger Lakes region.

This 2010 Whitecliff Traminette was a Gold Medal winner in the 2011 San Francisco International Wine Competition.  Kudos to Whitecliff!   I found the bouquet on this wine to be very aromatic! Lychee aromas with citrus and minerals filled my nose.


On the palate the wine was very smooth, slightly acidic and had nice balance.  Tastes of tropical fruit and hints of pineapple filled my palate with a soft spicy finish.  


This wine will pair will pair very well with a dish that has hints of spice.  The wine sells for $15.95 in the tasting room.  Not sure if they still have it available.