Gewürztraminer’s aroma of rose petals can be downright intoxicating. Some versions can be a little over the top, but when a winemaker gets it right, I can’t resist. In California, most of my favorites are from Anderson Valley (Navarro and Husch, for example), but this Sonoma Coast bottling from Gundlach-Bundschu deserves a place at the table.

The wine is textbook gewürz: fragrant and floral, with the characteristic lychee and rose petal notes and a spicy finish. While some gewürztraminers are slightly sweet, this one is bone dry. Its $25 price is reasonable for a wine of this quality.

I like gewürztraminer with smoked meats, making this wine a great pairing for a BLT featuring luscious end-of-season tomatoes. It’s also good with slightly spicy foods, and gewürz is often recommended as a tasty match with Thanksgiving turkey.