Gewürztraminer: Skin To Win
A lot of people skip over Gewürztraminer when perusing for a bottle of white. A shame, considering the uniqueness of a Germanic wine with a French passport that knows its way around a wok.
With perhaps the most aromatic nose of all whites, Gewürz may conjure honeysuckle, rose petals, lychees and grapefruit. Maybe not so olde fashioned after all? Get the oompah-pah music out of your head: Jill engineers a multiculti reintroduction.
Goes great with: plates of heat and texture – noodles, spice, cheese and game.
When I say “spicy German,” what do you think of? Marlene Dietrich, sausages, kinky live sex clubs with sausages…that’s about it. Well, you can shamelessly add Gewürztraminer to this list. (Let me see your lips work: gah VERTZ trah mee ner.)
A white grape with a reddish skin, Gewürz is a member of the always-expanding Traminer family, Gewürz meaning spicy. That skin is crucial here, providing the spice in the name to complement its sweetness.
Gewürztraminer thrives in cold climates, especially Alsace, the Rhine-bound region between northeast France and Germany. Also putting down roots in places like Chile, New Zealand, and Oregon, Gewürz ain’t easy to tend – susceptible to rot, its high sugars mean harvest timing is crucial to not to lose acidity. A great bottle will thread the needle between electricity and weight on your tongue.
While Alsatians pair Gewürz with goose sausages and munster cheese, it goes all Rutger-Hauer-in-Blade-Runner when synched up with Asian food, really fulfilling its sweet-and-spicy promise. Try one with your next order of Thai; bring a spicy German into the mix with no chafing from any leather corsets.