Wine Enthusiast on Spindrift Wines with Pumpkin Spice
Wine Enthusiast recently singled out wines that pair with pumpkin spice. Spindrift Cellars’ 2014 Late Harvest Pinot Gris was singled out as one of their favorites – thanks, Wine Enthusiast!
It’s the same thing every autumn. Pumpkin spice lattes, Triscuits, chai, Cheerios, and a host of other pumpkin-laced foodstuffs flood grocery stores. It’s become apparent the seasonal craze is less a trend than a way of life. Lucky for you, the baking spices that make up “pumpkin spice”—cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove and sometimes, allspice—are quite prevalent in a range of wine styles.
Spindrift Cellars 2014 Late Harvest Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley); $17/375 mL, 92 points. Breakfast tea, grapefruit and orange peel scents and a hint of spiced pumpkin come out of this well-priced sweet wine. With 67 g/L residual sugar and 12% alcohol, it’s not shy by any standard. The acid is sufficient to balance out all that sugar, and it’s rich enough that one half bottle can provide a dessert sip for a party of four. —Paul Gregutt
While our Late Harvest Pinot Gris is sold out, we recommend our 2016 Hangtime Pinot Gris for all you pumpkin spice lovers out there. Try it with pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, with pumpkin cookies while sitting by a warm fire on a cold winter day (yes they are coming!)
2016 Hangtime Pinot Gris $16
Grapes are from Mary’s Peak Vineyard in Philomath, OR.
Pinot Gris fruit picked by hand then pressed whole cluster to avoid skin contact. Juice fermented in Stainless Steal tank cool to maintain fruit flavors.
2% Residual Sugar