THE WINE
During the grape growing season, eastern Washington boasts warm summer days followed by cool nights, ensuring that grapes ripen fully while retaining ample natural acidity. “Gewürz” means “spice” in German. True to its name, our Gewürztraminer offers up varietal
spiciness, along with intense aromas and flavors of lychee, tangerine, orange, peach, melon, apple, honey, and cream. It has an excellent balance of acidity with a slight minerality. Restrained and off-dry, our Gewürztraminer is excellent with Thai cuisine, especially curries
and sweet peanut sauces. It also pairs well with sauerbraten and sausage dishes.

THE VINTAGE AND VINEYARDS
2018 started with an early budbreak but a cool, wet spring delayed bloom until mid-June. This delayed veraison and subsequently harvest enough to let the grapes ripen under the cooler temperatures of September and October. Hogue’s Gewürztraminer comes from deep-soil Yakima Valley sites. These sites generally harvest mid-season and an early variety like Gewürztraminer benefits from the additional hang time. The Gewürztraminer was grown on gently sloping vineyards where low vigor and deep, well-drained soils produce smaller berries with concentrated flavors. The fruit for this wine was grown primarily in Yakima Valley (99.5%) with a small amount from Horse Heaven Hills (0.5%). We selected fruit from vineyards that, year after year, produce outstanding Gewürztraminer, including Art DenHoed, Hogue Ranch, Flying M, and Andrews & Rowell.

THE WINEMAKING
Gewürztraminer is at its best when the grapes are fully mature to develop the spicy, fruity flavors that make this varietal so unique. A slow, cold fermentation helped to preserve the fruitiness. We ferment all our Gewürztraminer in stainless steel at temperatures ranging from 48°-57°F. To maintain the fruit focus, the wine goes directly from stainless steel tank to bottle.

THE NUMBERS
Harvest Dates: September 1-19, 2018
Appellation: Columbia Valley
Varietal Percentages: 99% Gewürztraminer, 0.35% Pinot Gris, 0.35% Muscat Canelli, 0.3% Riesling
Brix at Harvest: 22.7°
Residual Sugar: 12.2g/L
TA: 5.48g/L
pH: 3.23
Alcohol: 13%
Case Production: 8,337 cases