Gewurztraminer: the white with scents of lychee and rose
2 bottles, from the dry Alpine style of South Tyrol to Austrian late harvestLychee, rose petal, gingerbread and candied ginger: few whites are identified so quickly, from the very first nose. The palate carries that momentum on, broad, almost unctuous, borne by a generous alcohol, a soft acidity and often a trace of residual sugar that rounds off the finish. This is the wine for spicy tables and washed-rind cheeses.
Its name already tells the story of its journey: Gewürz means spicy in German, and Tramin is a village in South Tyrol where its ancestor, Savagnin Rose, grows. Alsace made it its signature, Alto Adige claims it as its own, and Germany and Austria push it towards sweetness.
Bruno Landauer - Gewürztraminer Ruster Spätlese 2024
A sublime Austrian late harvest!
Elena Walch - Gewurztraminer 2024
Lychee, rose and ginger: all the exuberance of Alpine Gewürztraminer.
The great terroirs of Gewurztraminer
This pink-skinned grape ripens quickly and loses its acidity as soon as the heat settles in. It therefore gives its best in the north, on sunny slopes sheltered from the rain, where cool nights hold the aromatics in place until harvest.
| Country and region | Climate and soils | What the country makes of it | The section to explore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alsace France, slopes sheltered by the Vosges | Low rainfall, marls, limestone and pink sandstone, grands crus on slopes | Rich terroir cuvées, vendanges tardives and sélections de grains nobles | French winesThe country's section |
| Tramin and Alto AdigeItaly, upper Adige valley | Altitude, marked temperature swings, porphyry and dolomitic limestone | The birthplace of the grape variety, today vinified dry, lively and highly perfumed | Elena Walch Gewurztraminer€26 per bottle, individually |
| Rust and BurgenlandAustria, on the shores of Lake Neusiedl | Pannonian microclimate, autumn mists, clay-limestone, slate and quartz | Late harvests taken up to Spätlese, Auslese and ice wine | Bruno Landauer Ruster Spätlese€17.91 per bottle, individually |
| Pfalz and BadenGermany, eastern side of the Vosges | Hot, dry plain, loess, sands and pebbles of the Rhine valley | An off-dry register, named Traminer or Roter Traminer on the label | German winesThe country's section |
| Gisborne, New Zealand | East coast of the North Island, deep silts, mild autumns | A fruity, supple version, often lifted by a touch of residual sugar | New Zealand winesThe country's section |
| Anderson Valley and Monterey, California | Valleys open to the Pacific, morning fogs, alluvial soils | Dry or lightly off-dry cuvées, cut out for Asian cooking | Wines from the United StatesThe country's section |
| Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley, Australia | Altitude and cool nights, quartzite, schist and red earth | A crisp reading, sometimes blended with Riesling for extra nerve | Australian winesThe country's section |
Two origins carry this page: Italy for the dry, chiselled Alpine style, and Austria for the late harvest of Lake Neusiedl. Alsace can be found in the French range, and the kinship with Riesling and with Pinot Gris leaps out on the same table.
The styles and the dishes that answer them
The same label can hide a frankly dry wine or a late-harvest nectar: it all depends on the timing of the harvest and when the fermentation is stopped. The useful guide remains the sugar level, often shown on the back label, and that is what dictates the pairing.
| The style | Sugar and alcohol | Taste | The dish that answers it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine dry | A few grams of sugar, 10 to 12% alcohol | Fresh rose, grapefruit zest, a broad but clean palate | Sushi, ceviche, smoked trout, semi-mature goat's cheese |
| Dry Alsace terroir style | Discreet sugar, 12% alcohol | Ripe lychee, ginger, gingerbread, a warm finish | Munster, Maroilles, Langres, Pont-l'Évêque |
| Off-dry | Twenty to forty grams, 10% alcohol | Mango, white peach, honeyed roundness | Thai curry, lacquered duck, Sichuan cooking |
| Vendange tardive and Spätlese | Fifty grams and more, 8 to 10% alcohol | Candied pineapple, acacia honey, mandarin, silky length | Pan-fried foie gras, apple tart, Roquefort |
| Sélection de grains nobles and Beerenauslese | Over a hundred grams, 8% alcohol | Dried apricot, saffron, beeswax, velvety texture | Tarte Tatin, crème brûlée, Stilton, Bleu d'Auvergne |
| Ice wine | Extreme concentration, 6 to 8% alcohol | Exotic fruit jelly, an acidity that lifts the finish | Mango sorbet, passion fruit dessert, very old Comté |
The late-harvest style is shown here by the Bruno Landauer Gewürztraminer Ruster Spätlese, at €17.91 a bottle, while the dry version is the Elena Walch Gewurztraminer, at €26 a bottle. The other nectars for the end of the meal are waiting in the sweet wine range.
A bottle for every mood
From the dry Alpine style of the Adige to the late-harvest nectar from the shores of the Neusiedl.
A late-harvest nectar for dessert
Overripe grapes harvested in Rust, candied pineapple, honey and mandarin. The glass for the end of the meal, served chilled with foie gras or a blue cheese.
Bruno Landauer Gewürztraminer Ruster Spätlese 2024 · €17.91 per bottle, sold individuallyThe Alpine style, dry and highly perfumed
South Tyrol vines, lychee, rose and ginger on a broad palate held up by the freshness of altitude. Ageing potential of five to ten years.
Elena Walch Gewurztraminer 2024 · €26 per bottle, individuallyContinue to South Tyrol
The birthplace of the grape variety sits alongside Pinot Grigio, Lagrein and Alpine Sauvignon. Mountain whites that are both ripe and taut.
Italian wines sectionBurgenland and its late harvests
Around Lake Neusiedl, the autumn mists give Spätlese and Auslese wines of rare density, at prices that are still gentle.
Austrian wines sectionFind the Alsace accent again
Alsace built its reputation on this grape, its vendanges tardives and its sélections de grains nobles. The French section keeps its spirit.
French wines sectionAll the wines for the end of the meal
Sweet wines, off-dry wines and ice wines gathered in one place, to go with a fruit dessert or a board of blue cheeses.
Sweet wines sectionThe other great white of the Rhine
Where this grape plays on opulence, Riesling answers with lemony tension and minerality. The classic duo of an Alsace table.
Riesling sectionThe closest table companion
The same birthplace, the same taste for rich dishes, a rounder and less floral palate. Perfect with roast poultry or a risotto.
Pinot Gris section
From a village in the Tyrol to the grands crus of Alsace
It all starts at Tramin, a village in the upper Adige valley that gave its name to Traminer. Gewurztraminer is its aromatic mutation, a pink-skinned berry born of Savagnin Rose, the same family as the white Savagnin of the Jura. The word Gewürz, which appeared in the nineteenth century, marks out precisely this spicy version from its more sober relative.
Alsace then took it up and made it a signature, going as far as to rank it among its four noble grape varieties alongside Riesling, Pinot Gris and Muscat. Late harvests, codified in 1984, established there the idea of a great sweet wine for ageing. Today the movement is going the other way: Alto Adige, Germany and some Alsace growers are bringing it back towards the dry style, straighter and easier to put on the table.
How do you choose
We taste every cuvée before listing it, and two points count here. The clarity of the perfume first: lychee and rose must stay precise, where an over-ripe wine turns to syrup. Then the balance, because this grape gives alcohol and little acidity: we keep the bottles that hold a mouth-watering finish, dry and sweet alike.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked about Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer, gewürztraminer or traminer: which is the right name?
All three turn up on labels. Alsace writes gewurztraminer, Germany and Austria keep the umlaut in Gewürztraminer, sometimes shortened to Traminer or Roter Traminer. Italy calls it Traminer Aromatico, and some Eastern European countries use Tramini. It is always the same pink-skinned grape, descended from the Savagnin Rose of Tramin.
What distinguishes an Italian Gewurztraminer from an Austrian one?
The one from Alto Adige is born at altitude, on porphyry, with wide swings in temperature: it stays dry, floral, taut, and keeps a clean finish. The one from Burgenland benefits from the mists of Lake Neusiedl and from a late harvest: the sugars concentrate and the wine moves towards candied pineapple and honey. Two glasses are enough to grasp the gap.
Are these bottles sold individually or by the case?
Both formats exist depending on the estate, many of which ship in full cases to keep the price as tight as possible. The price shown is always that of the bottle, with the sales format indicated right beside it. In this range, both origins are sold singly, from €17.91 a bottle for the Austrian one.
Is this wine dry or sweet?
Both, and that is the first question to ask before buying. A dry wine from Alto Adige has a few grams of sugar and is served as an aperitif or with fish. A late harvest, a Spätlese or a selection of noble berries goes beyond fifty grams and calls for dessert. The back label gives you the clue.
Which dishes suit it best?
That is where its strength lies. Washed-rind cheeses first, Munster, Maroilles, Langres, which few wines can handle. Then the spicy cooking of Asia, Thai curry, Peking duck, Sichuan dishes, which its roundness calms. Pan-fried foie gras and apple tart bring up the rear, with a well-chilled late-harvest version.
At what temperature should it be served?
Allow 10–12 °C for a dry version, which lets the perfumes open while keeping the palate fresh. Off-dry and sweet wines go down to 8–10 °C, an hour in the fridge being enough to get there. Above 14 °C, the alcohol takes over and the rose fades away.
How long does a bottle last?
A dry wine from a good terroir holds for five to ten years and then gains notes of honey, wax and dried fruit. Late harvests and selections of noble berries happily cross twenty years, carried by their sugar. A cool, dark cellar, with the bottle lying down, does all the work.
Why is its alcohol so high?
The berry builds up sugar very quickly at the end of ripening, faster than it loses its starting acidity, which is naturally low. The must therefore reaches the tank rich, which gives dry wines of around 14% abv. Growers compensate with altitude, cool exposures and earlier harvests.
Which bottle should I start with?
Start by opening the dry version from Alto Adige, at €26 a bottle, to set the aromatic benchmark of the grape variety with a cheeseboard or a spicy dish. Then move on to the Austrian late harvest, at €17.91 a bottle, served with a fruit dessert. The white wine range carries the discovery further.