Seifried Nelson Würzer 2019

4 Stars - Michael Cooper, ‘New Zealand Wines 2020’ michaelcooper.co.nz
91 Points (4.5 Stars) Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, June 2019
90 points - Cameron Douglas MS, ‘The Shout’ Aug 19
90 points - Bob Campbell MW, ©The Real Review, July 2019, therealreview.com
Silver - The New Zealand International Wine Show 2022

Vineyard: Seifried Redwood Valley vineyard
Sugar at Harvest: 21.3°Brix
Date of Harvest: 11 March 2019
pH of Wine: 3.09
T.A of Wine: 4.6g/L
Residual Sugar: 12g/L
Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans: Yes

The unirrigated Redwood Valley vineyard is situated on a gently sloping, north-facing clay site; the vines were planted in 1999. Vertical shoot positioning helps to expose the berries to sunlight, thus getting maximum intensity and optimal ripeness.

Founder Hermann Seifried is Austrian and studied at Weinsberg Weinbauschule, so when Hermann caught wind of this little known German cross (Gewürztraminer and Müller-Thurgau) being available in New Zealand he leapt at the chance to get his hands on some scion wood material.

Our Würzer has developed quite a following in the years that we have been producing it. We proudly make the only Würzer in New Zealand, with just a few rows of the fragrant grape variety on our clay-soiled Redwood Valley vineyard. The aromatic cross is only planted in very small quantities, even in its home country of Germany.

The Würzer was some of the very first fruit we harvested during the 2019 vintage. It was picked in good condition as the vintage commenced. After harvesting, the grapes were de-stemmed and pressed quickly to retain the clean freshness of the variety. The clear juice was inoculated with a pure yeast strain and then a cool, temperature-controlled fermentation began. The fermentation was stopped prematurely to leave some natural residual sweetness in the wine and an off-dry finish.