Gewürztraminer

White variety - Gewürztraminer

• General: Traminer is considered the father variety of many classic grape varieties. The official varietal name is "Roter Traminer". Far more popular, however, is the synonym "Gewürztraminer". It was named after the town of Tramin. Here, cultivation can be traced back to the 11th century. From the year 1500, Gewürztraminer was cultivated with "Riesling" in the "Gemischter Satz" in Germany and is currently being taken up again by winemakers in Alsace, South Tyrol and the Palatinate. In Rhodt unter der Rietburg in the Palatinate, a 400-year-old varietal Gewürztraminer can be found in the vineyard. Its cultivation in Germany is proportionally less than 1%, but Gewürztraminer is a high-quality niche product for winegrowers and cellar masters. The expertise and best wines of this variety are contested among colleagues every year in international wine competitions. In Europe, Gewürztraminer is mainly grown in South Tyrol and Alsace, but also in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Israel.
• Cluster: The grapes are comparatively small, short-stemmed and densely clustered. In our latitudes, ripening is classified as medium to late. The small, round to elongated berries are thick-skinned and pink to brown-red in colour. Characteristic is the intense rose aroma, which can be elegant to strong and perfumed, depending on the vintage and especially the soil conditions. The cultivar is also known for its tendency to trickle in bad flowering weather. Rootstocks that are weaker in growth support the flowering resistance and thus yield security.
• Wine: Traminer wines present themselves unmistakably with a wealth of aromas of rose petals, lychee, physalis, almonds and walnuts. The vinification styles range from dry wines to noble sweet wines. Auslese wines of various degrees show exotic and dried fruit aromas and are characterised by fullness and varietal fruit as top growths.
• Cultivation: The demands on soil and location are high due to the tendency to run. Wind-protected, warm, easily drying locations are preferable for cultivation.