Fetzer - Gewurztraminer @@@ (3 corks)

Retails: $7.99 (Total Wine)

Gewurztraminer (guh-voorts-truh-mee-ner). As if the guttural, spit-inducing, dry-heave-of-a-word didn't give it away, this is a German white wine (grown in California). Quite a good, German white wine, I might add. About two months ago, a co-worker asked me for a recommendation on a German wine to give as a gift to a neighbor. Having never reviewed a single one, I was at a loss as to what to recommend and put my "roxy.cape dot com" stamp of approval on. How embarrassing! Yes, as of recently, my reputation around the office has been that of "wine connoisseur"--- in truth, I'm probably the office wino, a title I graciously uphold and am honored to have (will they let me have business cards though, that's the question...)

This is a delightfully rich white wine best consumed ALONE--yup, it's a loner. It isn't bad with a meal, but it does tend to be a bit overpowering. It's a solid dessert wine, honey-sweet at first with a slightly dry, crisp finish -- somewhat reminiscent of green apples.

In other news, my fiance and I celebrated our dating anniversary this past weekend --- yes, we celebrate our dating anniversary. By tradition, we head up to Tampa's Channelside district, right near the cruise ship port. We rent a hotel room and walk to all of the bars and restaurants at Channelside. In particular, we enjoy some bowling at Splitsville --- both for its club-like atmosphere and the sense of irony in going to a venue called Splitsville for your anniversary. This particular year, however, we ended up getting food poisoning at Stumps Supperclub, resulting in my making a mad-dash to the bathroom at Splitsville in the middle of our second game, and calling it a night at 9:00 where we spent the rest of the evening taking turns in the bathroom. Happy Anniversary!