Gray Monk Cellars

When Gray Monk founders George and Trudy Heiss planted some of the Okanagan’s first vinifera in the late 1970s, their principal advisor was the late Dr. Helmut Becker, the director of viticulture at Germany’s Geisenheim Institute. That still shows in their continuing support of aromatic varieties favoured by or developed at Geisenheim.

Developed about 1916 in the Rhineland (possibly with some Geisenheim input), Siegerrebe is a cross of Gewürztraminer and Madeleine Angevine. The variety has the latter’s ability to ripen early, with the flavour profile of Gewürztraminer on steroids. This dramatically aromatic white has remained in the burgeoning Gray Monk portfolio because it is Trudy Heiss’s favourite white. Her husband quips that he might as well move out as try to prune this from a portfolio that, perhaps, is overly large.

This wine’s exotic aromas of rosewater and spice fairly leap from the glass. The layered tropical fruit flavours suggest oranges, grapefruits and peaches. Finished off-dry, the wine has a spicy persistence that makes it a refreshing and memorable aperitif as well as a light dessert wine. 89 points.

Reviewed July 15, 2007 by John Schreiner.