Traminette

The surprise wine of the pig roast was the 2012 River Village Cellars Ohio River Valley Traminette, the second label for Kinkead Ridge Vineyards.  The grape is a new world hybrid of Gewurztraminer.  This version had 2.1% residual sugar.   The aromas were flowers and spices with plenty of nutmeg and allspice.  There were some sharp flavors of peach and pear and  underlying flavors of lemon zest. 

Where this wine shined was with the Jamaican jerk sauce that was one of the options for the pork.  This was not a subtle sauce at all.  It was a pureed mixture of green onions, a big handful of fresh ginger, a healthy dose of just ground allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, garlic, a bit of malt vinegar, molasses, brown sugar and soy sauce all highlighted by four Scotch Bonnet Peppers.  The food processor earned its keep with this concoction. 

For the first two days the sauce is way too hot to eat, but by the fourth day it was ready for the pork.  It was still very spicy but the allspice and nutmeg truly matched well with this wine and the residual sugar in the wine helped to tame the heat of the peppers.  Both the ginger and the fruitiness of the Scotch bonnets were clear and bright.

2012 River Village Cellars Traminette.  12.4% alcohol.  2.1 % residual sugar.  $12.  99 cases produced.