Shopping for wine can be a daunting affair. So many labels, so much terminology, so many foreign names. Without a lot of tasting experience, many of us shop for the familiar labels, hesitant with the unknown. One of the most unusual, yet wonderful wines to take a taste gamble on is Gewürztraminer. Pronounced ga-verts-tra-mean-er, this wine is of German origin, and translates as spicy traminer, traminer being the original grape variety. The white wine is characterized by its distinctive character. Wine fans will tell you it has a highly aromatic bouquet, will be slightly sweet, loaded with spices and certainly full flavored.And, if you can score a 2000 Beringer Gewurztraminer from California, all those characteristics will explode on your palate with this wine that’s a circus in a bottle, and I mean that in a very positive sense.

Right off the bat, this Gewurztraminer will please the eye with its pale wheat color that possesses a distant hue of green apples. It’s clear as a bell, a flawless liquid gem. Take a whiff, and your nose will detect a fruity bouquet with hints of apricots, very ripe peaches, even some ripe cantaloupes at a fruit stand in summer. This wine has a beautiful nose. Taste the wine, and at first, its acidity will slam the roof of your mouth with flavors that then burst open at the rear of your tongue. Swallow, and the taste drapes down the sides of the mouth. The second sip can be a bit more interesting on the palate. More spice, more balance and more pleasant acidity will be apparent. There will be more flavor activity to decipher. Swallow, and the mouth is almost peppery as flavors linger and the savory sensations dwell. The finish is long and lasting with innuendos of apricots and peaches detectable. By the third taste, the mouth is awake and alert, waiting for more. I find this wine is almost better when it sits for 10 minutes or so, there’s more taste bursting in the mouth.

A Beringer Gewurstraminer is a joy ride, a fun excursion for anyone with an interest in the next and the new for the palate. It’s alive and perfectly suited with spicy Asian foods, even curry dishes. Go ahead, take a chance, and try a bottle soon.