Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer is a hugely aromatic white grape best known from Alsace in France, with unmistakable flavours of lychee, peach and tropical fruit alongside rose petals and warming spice. It can range from dry to sweet, and it’s brilliant with Thai curry, spicy Asian food, aromatic chicken dishes, pork, strong cheese and fruit desserts.

Taste:

Lychee, roses and absolutely no interest in being subtle.

Gewürztraminer is typically medium to full-bodied with relatively gentle acidity and an intensely aromatic personality. Lychee is its calling card, often joined by peach, apricot and tropical fruit.

Then come the flowers – particularly rose – alongside ginger, cinnamon and other warm spices. Depending on the style, you may also find honey and richer exotic-fruit flavours.

Gewürztraminer can be dry, off-dry or sweet, so checking the bottle matters. Even dry examples can taste surprisingly rich and fruity because of the grape's naturally intense aromas.

If someone tells you all white wine tastes the same, pour them this.

Case closed.

Food Pairings:

Gewürztraminer is brilliant with aromatic, spicy food.

Thai cuisine is prime territory. Try it with Thai green curry, Thai red curry, pad Thai, spicy noodles or dishes featuring chilli, ginger, lemongrass and coconut.

It also works beautifully with Indian food, including chicken curry, korma and aromatic dishes featuring cardamom, ginger or warming spices.

For meat, try roast pork, pork belly, glazed ham, roast chicken or aromatic chicken dishes.

Strong cheeses work particularly well, especially washed-rind cheeses, blue cheese and mature soft cheeses.

Sweeter styles can move into dessert territory, pairing beautifully with peach tart, apricot tart, fruit tart, cheesecake or tropical fruit desserts.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Gewürztraminer, Riesling is a natural next move for another aromatic white that can range from bone-dry to intensely sweet.

Muscat Blanc offers similarly floral, perfumed flavours, while Viognier brings peach, apricot and flowers in a typically dry, rich style.

Scheurebe is also worth exploring if bold aromatics and exotic fruit are becoming your thing.

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More About Gewürztraminer:

Gewürztraminer is most famously associated with Alsace in northeastern France, although it's also grown in Germany, Austria, northern Italy, New Zealand and other cooler wine regions.

Its pinkish-red skins might make it look like a red grape on the vine, but it produces white wine.

The name gives you a clue to its personality. Gewürz means spice or aromatic in German, while Traminer refers to the wider grape family from which it developed.

In Alsace, Gewürztraminer can produce everything from rich dry wines to intensely sweet late-harvest styles.

Pink grape. White wine. German name. French superstar. Tastes of lychee and roses.

No further notes.