Gewürztraminer
Also known as Traminer Aromatico
Probably South Tyrol (Tramin), Italy
A pink-skinned, intensely aromatic grape most famous in Alsace, producing bold, perfumed white wines with notable texture despite low acidity.
Sensory profile
Characteristics
Flavor & aroma
At a glance
Production facts
Prevalence
Niche
Climate
Cool climate
Ripening
Mid season
Wine styles
Still, Dessert
Where it's grown
Geography
Shaded areas are the state, province or département(s) containing each region, so they run wider than the appellations themselves.
France
Alsace
The grape's most celebrated modern home, from dry aromatic whites to lusciously sweet late-harvest styles.
Italy
South Tyrol (Alto Adige)
Believed to be near the grape's origin, around the town of Tramin (Termeno).
Germany
Pfalz
A secondary German home producing rounder, spice-driven aromatic whites.
Background
Origin & History
Gewürztraminer is a pink-skinned aromatic mutation of the older Traminer (or Savagnin) family of grapes, believed to originate around the town of Tramin, now Termeno, in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. "Gewürz," German for "spiced" or "spicy," was added to the name to distinguish this more intensely perfumed clone from its more neutral relatives.
Traminer has been grown in Alsace for centuries, and the Gewürztraminer name is first recorded there around 1870. There it became one of the four "noble" varieties permitted for late-harvest Vendanges Tardives and botrytized Sélection de Grains Nobles dessert wines, prized for the combination of low acidity, high potential alcohol, and bold lychee-rose-ginger aromatics that also make it a famously assertive, love-it-or-hate-it wine, and a favorite pairing for spiced and aromatic Asian cuisine.
Lineage
Family tree
Parentage not recorded — Gewürztraminer is an old variety of unknown origin.
No crossings involving Gewürztraminer are documented in the collection yet.