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Our Gewürztraminer Surprise
This post started out as a normal “pairing wines with dinner” until it was hijacked by this Gewürztraminer at the firepit on a late summers evening. Intrigued? Read on.

I love wines from the Südtirol – Alto Adige region of Italy. Nestled up into the lower slopes of the Dolomite mountains, the wines show their alpine home. Warm days with lots of sun with excellent cooling at night. Grapes ripen well with lively acidity. In picking something out for dinner, I knew the Gewürztraminer would be a bit of a challenge. It’s beautifully aromatic, but can be full bodied and naturally lower in acidity. The Pinot Bianco on the other hand, would go beautifully with our dinner plan.

Disclosure: The wines for this post were provided as samples. No other compensation was involved. All opinions and s’mores are my own.

Cantina Colterenzio Pinot Bianco “Cora” DOC 2020 (sample, $17) 13% abv
Eye: Pale lemon
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of honeysuckle, ripe pear and yellow apple, subtle tangerine, wet stones
Mouth: Dry, medium plus acidity, medium body with a soft texture, medium alcohol, medium flavor intensity, medium plus finish.
Observations: A refreshing white wine with lively acidity, but avoids being tart with a nice soft texture to soften the sense of acidity.

Pairing with Shrimp Skewers
We grilled shrimp skewers for dinner, briefly marinating the shrimp in teriyaki sauce and alternating the shrimp with red onion, red pepper and fresh pineapple. We served the shrimp with rice and fresh sweetcorn. Sweetcorn is our celebration of summer in Minnesota and we have it nearly daily in July and August before cooler weather sets in in September. As expected, the Pinot Bianco was perfect. Lively acidity, and sufficient body to match the umami character of the marinated shrimp. I wasn’t surprised that the Gewürztraminer wasn’t a perfect match, but it’s worth trying as unusual matches sometimes work.

Kellerei Bozen Kleinstein Gewürztraminer DOC 2020 (sample, $30) 15%abv!
Eye: Medium gold
Nose: Pronounced aromas of roses, lychee, lemons, apricots, cloves, cinnamon. A fascinating nose typical of this grape.
Mouth: Off-dry, medium acidity, full body with an oily texture, high alcohol, pronounced flavor intensity and a long finish. Flavors follow the nose closely.
Observations: The aromas from this wine are absolutely intriguing. Every return to the glass produced something new. At only about 7 g/l residual sugar, the wine shows as intensely fruity and just barely off-dry. At 15% alcohol, it has a rich, oily texture. The surprise was how well this wine paired with our classic campfire treat of s’mores.

(click on any photo below for full size slide show)

Surprise! Kleinstein Gewürztraminer with Campfire Toasted S’Mores
We had been talking all summer about having s’mores over the backyard firepit, and it was getting to be late August, no time to waste! Our friend Ann brought over some upgrades to the classic Hershey bars in the graham cracker / toasted marshmallow / chocolate combination that makes a s’more. We tested out both Kit-Kats and Reese’s in the role of the chocolate bar. Though my photo shows the Reese’s, my favorite was the Kit Kat bar. That additional crispy layer added some nice texture in each bite.

The surprise was pairing with our Kleinstein Gewürztraminer. The full body of the wine and thick texture matched the rich dessert perfectly, and the overwhelming sweetness in the s’more didn’t need any extra sugar, for sure. The intense fruit in the wine stood up to the chocolate and provided balance. Don’t let summer escape without giving this unexpected combination a try, and let me know what you think!