Gewurztraminer Wine

For most of us, making, drinking and possessing good wine is a passion and an art that gives us immense sense of creativity and sophistication. There are different types of wine drinkers and so are the different types of wine. Wines, belongs to different cultures, regions and are made using different types of grapes. One of such popular and historical type of wine is Gewurztraminer wine, which is incurred from Gewurztraminer grapes. For some of us, Gewurztraminer is a sweet German wine with a totally unpronounceable name; while for the rest of us, it is the oldest type of German white wine with a subtle rosy smell and noblest taste. Let's find out more.

History

First of all the pronunciation of the word Gewurztraminer. Actual pronunciation of Gewurztraminer is 'ga-VERTZ-trah-MEE-ner'. The German word Gewürztraminer can be split in half as Gewürz, which means "spice" and traminer, which means "coming from Tramin" which is a small city in Germany. Gewurztraminer is one of the most popular Alsatian wine, since its first production in the Alsace region of Germany in 19th century. Today, more than 20% of vineyards of Alsace region grow this tempting different type of wine grapes. Gewurztraminer is a type of grapes with light pink to red skin and hence one can say that they are white wine grapes. Gewurztraminer grapes are high on sugar content and as a result Gewurztraminer German wine is off-dry type of white wine. The original Traminer wine was different in color and taste than Gewurztraminer and it was mutated since centuries, in various regions. For instance in Germany it was known as roter traminer, in Italy, it was known as traminer rosé or termener aromatico, while in France it was known as raminer musqué.

Characteristics

As I said earlier, this wine is typically spicy and very aromatic type of white wine. It varies greatly on the accounts of aroma, sweetness and its dryness. Along with these traits, Gewurztraminer also differs in flavors, taste and color. Unlike different types of white wines, Gewurztraminer is a heavy bodied German wine type with bouquets of various flowers like rose, gardenia; various types of fruits like peaches, lychee, mangoes and some spices like cloves and nutmeg. Characteristics of Gewurztraminer grapes and wine are also dependent on the region in which they are grown. The main wine producing regions are, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Ukraine. The thin skins and unique taste of these grapes make this wine distinctly sweet and high on alcohol levels. It also provides low acidity and high pH levels. As a result of all these things, pairing this wine with other types of wine sometimes becomes problematic.

Pairing

Having said that pairing Gewurztraminer with rest of the beverages is a bit problematic, this wine is a popular for pairing with various delicious types of cuisines. When it comes to Gewurztraminer wine and cheese pairing, several types of cheese like Boursin, Pont l'Eveque, Langres, Roquefort, Munster Chevre and Maroilles (French cheese), Garrotxa (Spanish cheese), Wensleydale (English cheese), Swiss cheese (US) and several other types of German cheese are some popular pairings. Gewurztraminer is often served as aperitif, alcoholic beverage which is served as an appetizer before meal. However, Gewurztraminer is also consumed as dessert wine. As far as Gewurztraminer food pairing is concerned, being spicy, this wine is paired with spicy dishes and especially, Asian cuisine. Here are some ideas for you that you can try while pairing Gewurztraminer with various food recipes of various regions.

Similar to Pinot Noir food pairing, Gewurztraminer can be paired with terrine foie gras, duck or goose liver pates, smoked oysters, smoked salmon recipes, smoked trout, smoked chicken, oyster stew, various fish recipes like mahi mahi, grilled halibut, monkfish, sole, red snapper, swordfish, baked sturgeon, grilled shrimp, grilled scallops, seafood brochette and other seafoods. This wine can also be paired with prosciutto with fruits, pancetta, bacon, chicken soup, turkey soup, French onion soup, Vichyssoise, leek and onion quiche, chef's salad, Waldorf salad, teriyaki chicken, barbecued chicken, baked ham, pork chops, roasted game and other dishes. This wine is also paired with Chinese food recipes, rice recipes, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, squash recipes, beef with coconut milk curry, chicken curry, lamb curry, Moo Shoo pork, pad Thai, moussaka, various Thai food and Japanese food.

Well then, that was all that I had to tell you about this interesting type of white wine. I hope the above reading about Gewurztraminer wine has tempted you yet again to bring home this 'bottled poetry' (as Robert Louis Stevenson puts it) once again and enjoy it with your loved ones!