HOT NEW SINGLE VARIETALS - GEWÜRTZTRAMINER!

Gewürztraminer is like Harley Quinn.

It is polarizing, zany, wild, bat s**t, and underestimated. A lot of people don’t take it seriously. But it kicks ass in every aspect, and when paired with the right food is probably one of the most memorable grapes around.

Gewürztraminer is a grape of many astonishing complexities. It’s a hurricane of aromas, with many layers and if you are fortunate enough to have a good Gewurtz, you are in for a truly unforgettable experience.

Gewurtz - so misunderstood…

… and ingenious varietals like Gewurtz.

I’ve written about Gewurtz in the past, and how this varietal was often such a tough sell in the American marketplace. People hate the name and are often intimidated by it. I have offered the solution of simply abbreviating the name and calling it, “Gewurtz,” which is fairly easy to pronounce. No one will fault you for that.

With all that in mind, people have other issues with this unfortunately monikered varietal. The truth of the matter is there are a lot of really poorly made Gewurtzes out there that are cloyingly sweet and just plain gross.

FUN FACTS ABOUT GEWURTZTRAMINER THE GRAPE

Did you know Gewurtz is actually PINK? Not only that, but Gewurtz is a cool weather grape that ripens REALLY fast. There’s actually a very small window winemakers can harvest this grape and if they miss the mark, it becomes bitter and alcoholic, producing well… really s**t wine.

From personal experience, I’ve had more than my fair share of unfortunate Gewurtz. And honestly, I can’t even begin to tell you how many people tell me they think Gewurtz is sweet. Lemme tell you something - a Gewurtz that is done right is BONE DRY. Riesling from the Mosel probably has more residual sweetness than Gewurtz. True blue, good, Gewurtz should have no sweetness whatsoever. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

*uses Bernie Sanders gif for added emphasis.

WHERE TO FIND GOOD GEWURTZ

So where do you find the good stuff then? Lemme tell you.

ALSACE

If you are looking for a tried and true, 100% safe region to pick up Gewürtztraminer - Alsace is your best bet. This lovely region at the base of the Voges mountains produces almost exclusively white wines. Most of the Alsatian Gewurtzes will be technically, “correct,” and fairly affordable as well. Gewurtz is considered one of the 4 noble grapes of Alsace, which means it has some pretty serious clout over there - more clout than Pinot Noir even.

Alsatian Gewurtz is spicy, with aromas of ginger, clove, and lychee nut. These Gewurtzes are powerful, with a long and lingering finish. Some quality Gewurtz from Alsace can age as well, but I recommend drinking them on the younger side so they keep their acidity.

WASHINGTON

I did a post on Washington a few weeks back about how versatile its climate is. We both know that Gewurtz does really well in cooler climates, so it makes sense Washington would be another place that does great Gewurtz.

There are some really good Gewurtzes that come out of the Columbia River Gorge AVA, and the river acts as a great moderating influence on the climate there. One of my favorite Washington Gewurtzes was produced by Gilbert Cellars - a winery I spoke highly of when I did my piece on Washington last month.

The Gewurtz I’ve had from Washington was incredibly dry, with stunning floral aromas. Picture roses made out of steel. Truly beautiful stuff if you can find it.

ALTO ADIGE

My favorite Gewurtz comes from this region at the base of the Dolomites in Northern Italy. As a general rule of thumb, great Gewurtz grows in the Alps. So, realistically you could probably find good Gewurtz in Hungary, Romania, Croatia, and Slovenia as well.

In Alto Adige Gewurtztraminer is related to another grape, called Traminer. In this part of the world, you can expect aromas of grapefruit, Turkish Delight, allspice - for me I get the smell of Christmas cookies but I am weird - and of course roses.

From Alto Adige, Gewurtz is just plain pretty. Mmmkay?

ISRAEL

I know what you’re thinking. Umm…. Isn’t Israel hot? Doesn’t that like go against literally EVERYTHING you just told me about finding good Gewurtz?

Well, um… Sort of. See here’s the thing, the particular portion of Israel that grows Gewurtztraminer I’m thinking of is the Golan Heights. This cooler climate region - during winter the temperature drops to around the low 40s - with volcanic soil is ideally suited for growing Gewurtz simply because of the high altitude and dramatic temperature changes. That good old volcanic soil also adds loads of minerality to the wine.

I’ll admit, when I first was presented with an Israeli Gewurtz from a producer I used to work with during one of my former distribution gigs - Yarden - I was skeptical. But after I tasted this mineral, dry, complex wine with aromas of citrus fruit, passion fruit, and of course…. roses…. I was really impressed. Israel actually knows what’s up and can make some really solid, affordable, cool climate Gewurtz.

GEWÜRTZTRAMINER PAIRINGS

Gewürtz is a wine that doesn’t f**k around, okay? So you wanna treat it right when you pair it with food.

When pairing Gewurtz, it’s important to think about the exotic aromas of Gewurtz - rose water, ginger, passion fruit, lychee, allspice, grapefruit, pineapple, peaches, wet stone, Turkish delight, Christmas cookies - and take all those things into consideration.

Gewurtz goes great with exotic foods that have those similar spicy qualities. Moroccan tagine? Perfect for Gewurtz. Indian food? Pair it with Gewurtz and you have a hit. Middle Eastern food? Another winner. Gewurtz is a fantastic wine to drink during the holidays. Because of those clove and allspice aromas, people love pairing Gewurtz with turkey or ham.

My all-time favorite pairing of Gewurtz is Gewurtz with apple pie. If you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. Please DM me on Instagram or comment below when you do. And now, let’s get to the—

PICK OF THE WEEK: ELENA WALCH GEWÜRTZTRAMINER $24.90 @ Eataly Vino

Some wines effect you on a deep emotional level to the point where they friggin MOVE you, mmmkay? Elena Walch’s Gewürtztraminer does that for me. It’s a legit Rachmaninov Piano Concerto in a friggin’ bottle. FULL STOP BYOTCH!

I first discovered this wine at a trade tasting in Los Angeles called Tre Bicchieri several years ago. Elena was there and she was pouring her wines. My boss at the time was an importer who specialized in smaller production Italian wines and suggested we go check her out. He told me her Gewurtz was on point.

Elena was lovely, a bit shy and soft spoken. I low-key have this theory that all the best winemakers are shy, artistic types and she kind of perfectly fits the bill for that. She poured me a bit of the Gewurtz to try and I was blown away. As leery as I am of gendering wine, I’ll just say it. It was uncompromisingly feminine. It reminded me of everything I love about being a girl - I don’t know if that makes sense, but to me it does.

I kept coming back and asking for more pours, to the point where she legit recognized me but she was super chill about it and kept giving me Gewurtztraminer. We were surrounded by GIANTS, okay? Ornellaia was there, Sassicaia was there, all the heavy hitting Super Tuscans were at this event and yeah I tasted them all, but the wine I kept coming back for? The wine I still remember and love to this day? It was and will always be Elena Walch’s Gewurtz.

The Elena Walch Gewurtztraminer has so much complexity and is a symphony of white floral aromas like lilies and white roses. It reminds me of this perfume by Le Labo - Lys - in the best possible way. There’s an etherial lightness to the wine, and it has this delicate, ballerina-like quality. As soft as a cloud in terms of body, but with a very strong, mineral-driven core, this crystalline wine is just extraordinary.

I said Gewurtz from Alto Adige is like a rose made of steel - and honestly? It was her Gewurtztraminer that made me feel this way. This wine is truly exceptional, and will turn anybody who is skeptical about Gewurtz into a believer.