Handley Gewurztraminer 2009

There's beautiful fruit clarity to this cool gewurztraminer, an exotic flavor like ripe cherimoya and fresh litchi. It feels luscious and gentle in the middle, then constricts around steely acidity, a tense balance that leaves the mouth refreshed. Serve it as you would an Alsace gewurz, with sausages in choucroute.

There's a hint of rose if you search for it, but this is not aggressively floral. Instead, it's fresh, chalky, crisp and clean, like biting into a fresh litchi. Firm acidity drives the wine, cutting right through the fruit to deliver its flavor into the meat of whatever is for dinner - it'd be delicious with Thai-style catfish with ginger.

On the rosewater side of gewurz, this wine has a heavy perfume cut by leaner green herb acidity and a hint of smoke. For a Thai seafood soup with lemongrass.

Bright and sophisticated, this gewurz is full-bodied without full-on sweetness. There's a tension to the lush and fragrant fruit: the flavors follow a line of apple blossom and marzipan while riding a pungent acidity. Worthy of an elegant Alsace table, or a Mendocino boite by the sea; check this out with choucroute.

As pretty and polished as California Gewürztraminer gets. Shows fabulous Anderson Valley acidity and minerality undergirding varietal flavors of sweet Asia spices, pears, peaches, limes and honeysuckle flowers. With its dry finish, it's a rich accompaniment to Vietnamese or Thai food.

Winemaker Milla Handley has a passion for making Gerwurtztraminer, and has received numerous awards for her efforts. The seductive aromas of roses and honeysuckle hits you right from the start. On the palate, you will find luscious flavors of lychee, peach, apricot and tropical fruit. Along with a hint of nutmeg and citrus, this wine just keeps revealing more layers of fruit and spices with each sip. This is a great wine for serving with salads and spicy Thai dishes.

So rich, so honeyed, with an oily texture, this Gewurz is simply wonderful. It shows powerfully ripe peach, pineapple, pear, honeysuckle, lemon cream and dusty spicebox flavors. With balancing acidity, it's California Gewurz at its most charming.