We are suckers for sweet wines, especially Gewürztraminer with its seductive floral perfume. Just because we like dessert wines doesn't make it easy or foolproof to produce them. Gewürz ripens early and has tough skins. It is the magic of the noble rot (botrytis) that enables us to produce these nectars. Early ripening means we have a long wait for the cold and humid conditions that promote botrytis. Even then, the tough skins of Gewürz are resilient to botrytis, so it takes longer before the rot spreads. The harvest date for this wine was a month later than our dry Gewürz and a week after we began harvesting our Cluster Select Riesling which, as you can see in the specs, was a lot more "rotten." We love pulling out an extremely sweet, old Cluster Select wine with a rich dessert, but we prefer the moderate sweetness and heady bouquet of this Late Harvest with fresh pears or a holiday snack of cheeses with walnuts and dried fruit. This nectar will transform homemade cinnamon cookies into an awesome treat. Gold Medal winner.