I have rekindled my interest in Thai cooking. I think it is a spring thing; somehow the colours and scents of Thai food seem to match the season. Well, for me anyway.

In recent times the aromatic Gewürztraminer (Gewürz to its friends) wines from Alsace have been closely aligned with the fragrant cooking of south east Asia and you are guaranteed to find at least one offering on even the least-inspired wine lists these days.

Whether it is the, often middling, quality of restaurant offerings or my natural tendency to turn my back on convention, I have not really done a lot of sampling for myself — until recently.

I have — among other things — been spicing pork chops, making thai curry pastes and steaming fish with aromatic herbs and noodles. All a real pleasure and happily served up with some really delicious Gewürz wines.

For the uninitiated, Gewürz is a white variety that is as exotic in taste as the name suggests.

It arrived in Alsace (now its adopted homeland) from its birthplace in Italy’s Alto Adige, via Germany.

Today you will find it planted in Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Austria, South Africa and other counties besides but still in fairly modest volumes.

Its perfumed, exuberant, often floral qualities can be quite alienating to some but it is these very same characteristics that make it such a good partner to the tastes of coriander, coconut, lemongrass, ginger and spice that go hand-in-hand with Thai cuisine.

It is rare to find a modest Gewürz but there are slightly more understated examples that tend to work best when the spicy seasoning in the food is more restrained.

I particularly liked the Domaine Paul Blanck 2009, Alsace (£10.44 www.waitrosewine.com — this is a 20 per cent discount price available until April 5) that had the hallmark lychee notes with a good mineral backbone and lovely freshness.

Another, slightly more discreet example, is an Alsace wine from Trimbach (£12.00 www.majestic.co.uk). They are listing both the 2007 and 2008 vintages currently and I would be tempted to go for the 2007 because the style is quite direct and that extra year of bottle age has seen the flavours mellow quite nicely now.

If, like me, you get careless about throwing a little bit too much ginger into the mix, or struggle to resist the temptation to chuck in the chillis with seeds and all, you will need your Gewürz to be just as bold.

There are plenty to choose from but I’ve enjoyed the flashy, tropical, lychee-laden example from New Zealand’s Spy Valley Estate (£12.49 or £9.99 if you buy two www.majestic.co.uk).

As is true with all these wines, I would tend to give it an extra ten minutes in the fridge to tame it a little but there is no denying the hugely enjoyable ‘wow-ness’ of this wine!

Lastly, Eynsham Wine Cellars (43 Mill Street, Eynsham, Witney Tel: 01865 884405) do sell a selection of the Chilean Errazuriz wines, including the Single Vineyard Gewürz (£9.49) which has a touch of oak-ageing and thus is an even more voluptuous example.

You will find plenty of apricot and ripe orchard fruits here, a touch of peppery spice and ginger too.