Gewrztraminer

Dreimanner redirects here. For the Austrian wine 1 Etymology

grape also known as Dreimnner, see Roter Veltliner.
St. Klauser redirects here. For a related grape and The German name Gewrztraminer literally means
other synonyms, see Savagnin.
Spice Traminer[4] or Perfumed Traminer, and originally comes from the Alsace region in France. This grape
variety is a mutation of the Savagnin blanc, also named
Traminer in South Tyrol (northern Italy).
Many grape names redirect here. For the list,
see below: Synonyms.

2 History

Gewrztraminer vine and grapes

Gewrztraminer (pronounced [vtstamin]) is an

aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and
performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewrz (this is never
the case in German, because Gewrz means herb or
spice), and in French it is written Gewurztraminer
(without the umlaut). Gewrztraminer is a variety with
a pink to red skin colour, which makes it a white wine
grape as opposed to the blue to black-skinned varieties
commonly referred to as red wine grapes. The variety
has high natural sugar and the wines are white and usually
o-dry, with a amboyant bouquet of lychees. Indeed,
Gewrztraminer and lychees share the same aroma compounds.[1] Dry Gewrztraminers may also have aromas
of roses, passion fruit and oral notes. It is not uncommon to notice some spritz (ne bubbles on the inside of
the glass).

Gewrztraminer vine at budbreak.

The history of the Traminer family is complicated, and

not helped by its rather unstable genome. The story starts
with the ancient Traminer variety, a green-skinned grape
that takes its name from the village of Tramin, located in
South Tyrol, the German-speaking province in northern
Italy. The famous ampelographer Pierre Galet thought
that Traminer was identical to the green-skinned Savagnin blanc (not Sauvignon blanc) that makes vin jaune
in the Jura. More recently it has been suggested that SavGewrztraminers sweetness may oset the spice in Asian agnin blanc acquired slight dierences in its leaf shape
cuisine.[2] It goes well with Hirtenkse,[3] Mnster cheese, and geraniol content[5] as it travelled to the other end of
and eshy, fatty (oily) wild game.
the Alps.
1

CROSSES

Frankisch in Austria, Gringet in Savoie, Heida in Switzerland, Formentin in Hungary and Grumin from Bohemia
are all very similar to Savagnin blanc and probably represent clones of the Traminer family, if not Traminer itself.
The Viognier of the Rhone Valley may be a more distant
relative of Savagnin blanc.
At some point, either Traminer or Savagnin blanc mutated into a form with pink-skinned berries, called
Red Traminer or Savagnin rose. Galet believed
that a musqu ('muscat-like') mutation in the Red
Traminer/Savagnin rose then led to the extra-aromatic
Gewrztraminer, although in Germany these names are
all regarded as synonymous.
With these convoluted genetics happening in the area that
has been the front line for a millennium of wars in Europe, it is maybe not surprising that vines have been misnamed. Given that the wine made from 'Gewrztraminer'
in Germany can be much less aromatic than that in Alsace, some of the German vines may well be misidentied Savagnin Rose. The Baden vineyard of Durbach
claims its own type of Red Traminer called Durbacher
Clevner (not to be confused with Klevner, an Austrian
synonym for Pinot blanc). The story goes that in 1780
Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden brought vines from
A Gewrztraminer made in Oregon from grapes grown in WashChiavenna in Italy, halfway between Tramin and the Jura,
ington State.
which was known to the Germans as Cleven.
The Klevener de Heiligenstein or Heiligensteiner
Klevener found around Heiligenstein in Alsace may rep- ing the highest ever must weight recorded in Germany,
[6]
resent an outpost of the Durbach vines. They are often 326 Oechsle. A cross between Mller-Thurgau and
Siegerrebe produced Ortega.
described as a less aromatic form of Gewrztraminer.
Traminer is recorded in Tramin from ca. 1000 until the Cserszegi Fszeres is the result of a Hungarian cross with
16th century. It was spread down the Rhine to Alsace, by Irsai Oliver.
way of the Palatinate, where Gewrz (spice) was added to In 1938, Harold Olmo crossed Smillon and Gewrzits name - presumably this was when one of the mutations traminer at U.C. Davis to make Flora, which is grown
happened. The longer name was rst used in Alsace in a little in California and New Zealand - in the latter it was
1870 - without the umlaut. It is not clear what this name mistaken for a late-ripening clone of Pinot gris. Brown
change represents, as it seems too great a coincidence that Bros blend it with Orange Muscat in Australia.
the musqu mutation happened just after the arrival of
the great phylloxera epidemic. More likely, an existing In 1965, Gewrztraminer was crossed with Joannes
mutant was selected for grafting onto phylloxera-resistant Seyve 23.416 at the University of Illinois to produce a hyrootstocks when the vineyards were replanted. In 1973 brid variety called Traminette. Traminette is more coldmost of the
the name Traminer was discontinued in Alsace except for tolerant than the original, while maintaining
[7]
desirable
taste
and
aroma
characteristics.
in the Heiligenstein area.
In the late 20th century, Australian viticulturalist and
grape breeder A.J. Antcli crossed Gewrztraminer
with Merbein 29-56 to create the white grape variety
3 Crosses
Taminga.[8]
The Germans have tried hard to breed the avours
of Gewrztraminer into vines that are easier to grow.
In 1932, Georg Scheu crossed Gewrztraminer with
Mller-Thurgau to produce Wrzer, a little of which
is grown in Rheinhessen and in England. Similar
crosses at Alzey and Wrzburg respectively have produced Septimer and the reasonably successful Perle. The
early-ripening Siegerrebe is the result of a cross with
Madeleine Angevine at Alzey and is notable for produc-

During a series of trials between 1924 and 1930, Gewrztraminer was crossed with Trebbiano to create the pinkskinned Italian wine grape variety Manzoni rosa.[9]
In 1970s, Czech winemaker and grape breeder Ing.
Jan Veverka crossed in former Czechoslovakia Gewrztraminer with Mller-Thurgau to create the wine grape
variety Plava (the name refers to the Plava hills located in the south Moravia). The grape variety is pinkskinned, earlier, more productive and of a ner traminer-

4.4

Germany

like aroma. Plava is grown in Moravia (Czech Republic)

and Slovakia.

Regions

In Europe, the grape is grown in Spain, Slovenia, Italy,

France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary,
Luxembourg, Moravia, Romania, in the Czech Republic
and Slovakia. In the New World, the grape is perhaps
most successful in New Zealand, in Mendoza, the most
important wine region of Argentina and in the far south
of Chile. In the Middle East, the grape is grown in the
Golan Heights.

4.1

Australia

Australian Gewrztraminer is more notable for its occasional use of old names like Traminer Musqu and
Gentil Rose Aromatique than the actual quality of the
wines. However recently those from the countrys coolest
regions can be ne examples. These include Gewrztraminers from the Adelaide Hills, Eden Valley, the island of Tasmania, Clare Valley, Yarra Valley and the
vineyards scattered in the Australian Alps. The Macedon Ranges, just North of Melbourne has a cold climate German Gewrztraminer - may be Red Traminer
and volcanic soils, much suited to production of Gewrztraminer. (Macedon Ranges Vignerons Association.)

4.4 Germany

Germany has about 10 square kilometres of the variety,

but it is very dierent from that of their neighbours across
the Rhine, as suggested above a lot of their GewrzCanadian wine regions where it is grown include traminer is probably Red Traminer. The Germans go
Vancouver Island and the Okanagan Valley of British for a relatively dry style, that tries to subdue the natural
Columbia, the Niagara Peninsula, and the north shore of amboyance of the grape.
Lake Erie and Prince Edward County wine regions of
Ontario.

4.2

Canada

4.5 Italy

4.3

France

The Traminer is native to the cool Alpine slopes of

the Trentino-Alto Adige/Sdtirol in northeastern Italy.
Whether the Gewrz- mutant originated there or not is
an open question, but it is certainly grown there today.
What is certain is that the name Traminer derives from
the town of Tramin. Confusingly, both pink and green
grapes may be called simply Traminer.

Gewrztraminer reaches its nest expression in

Alsace,[10] where it is the second most planted grape
variety and the one most characteristic of the region.
It grows better in the south of the region. Styles of
Gewurztraminer d'Alsace range from the very dry
Trimbach house style to the very sweet. The varietys
high natural sugar means that it is popular for making
4.6 USA
dessert wine, both vendange tardive and the noble
rot-aected Slection de Grains Nobles.
In the United States, it is concentrated in Monterey, MenAs mentioned above, around Heiligenstein there is a docino and Sonoma in California, the Columbia Valley
grape known as Klevener de Heiligenstein, which is a of Washington and Oregon as well as the Snake River
Red Traminer (Savagnin Rose) and not a true Gewrz; Region of Idaho. It is also grown in Michigan, Rhode
the Heiligenstein wines are certainly more restrained than Island, Caddo County, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
other Gewurztraminers d'Alsace.
Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Missouri,

New Mexico, New Hampshire, Grand Valley, Colorado

and the Finger Lakes and Long Island Regions of New
York.

Vine and viticulture

Gewrztraminer is particularly fussy about soil and climate. The vine is vigorous, even unruly, but it hates
chalky soils and is very susceptible to disease. It buds
early, so is very susceptible to frost, needs dry and warm
summers, and ripens erratically and late. Its natural
sweetness means that in hot climates it becomes blowsy,
with not enough acidity to balance the huge amounts of
sugar. On the other hand, picking early to retain the acidity, means that the varietal aromas do not develop, and
these aromas may be further diluted by overcropping in
an attempt to overcome the low yields.

Synonyms

As explained above, genetic instability means that the

Traminers should be regarded as a family of related
clones, rather than distinct varieties. Thus DNA analysis
will probably reveal that the following names are not synonymous. It gets even worse when it comes to Gewrztraminer, as Geilweilerhof, being Germans, see no difference between it and Red Traminer - and some of the
names look like they belong to the original green-skinned
Traminer/Savagnin blanc. Still, with those caveats, here
they are:
Auvernas rouge, Blanc brun, Blanc
Court, Bon blanc, Christkindeltraube,
Christkindlestraube,
Clevener,
Clevner,
Crevena Ruziva, Crovena Ruzica, Diei
Traminec,
Dreimaenner,
Dreimannen,
Dreipfennigholz, Drumin, Drumin Ljbora,
Duret rouge, Edeltraube, Fermentin rouge,
Fleischroth, Fleischweiner, Formentin rouge,
Fourmenteau rouge, Frencher, Fromente, Fromenteau, Fszeres, Fszeres Tramini, Gentil
Rose Aromatique, Gentil-duret rouge, Gentile
blanc, Gertie, Gewuerztraminer, Gringet, Gris
rouge, Haiden, Kirmizi Traminer, Klaebinger,
Klaevner, Kleinbraun, Kleinwiener, Livora,
Livora Cervena, Mala Dinka, Marzimmer,
Mirisavi Traminac, Nature, Nature rose,
Noble rose, Nuernberger Rot, Pinat Cervena,
Piros Tramini, Plant Paien, Princ Cerveny,
Princt Cervena, Princt Cerveny, Ranfoliza,
Rosentraminer, Rotclevner, Rotedel, Roter
Nuerberger, Roter Nuernberger, Roter
Traminer, Rotfranken, Rothklauser, Rothweiner, Rothwiener, Rotklaevler, Rotklaevner,
Rotklevner, Rousselet, Runziva, Rusa, Ruska,

REFERENCES

Ryvola, Salvagnin, Sauvagnin, Savagnin,

Savagnin jaune, Savagnin Rosa Aromatique,
Savagnin rose, Savagnin Rose Aromatique,
Savagnin Rose Musque, St. Klauser, Termeno Aromatico, Tramin Cerveny, Tramin
Korenny, Traminac Crveni, Traminac Diseci,
Traminac mirisavi (Croatian), Traminac
Mirisavi Crveni, Traminac Sivi, Traminec,
Traminer, Traminer Aromatico, Traminer
Epice, Traminer Musque, Traminer Parfume,
Traminer rosa, Traminer Rose Aromatique,
Traminer Rot, Traminer Rozovyi, Tramini
Piros and Trammener.[11]

7 See also
International variety

8 References
[1] Peter K. C. Ong and Terry E. Acree. "Similarities in the
Aroma Chemistry of Gewrztraminer Variety Wines and
Lychee (Litchi chinesis Sonn.) Fruit"
[2] Wine Access: About Gewurztraminer Accessed 2 June
2009
[3] Barbara Adams, Cheese and Wine Pairing Recipe:
Hirtenkse Cheese and Gewrztraminer Wine, found at
Barbara Adams Beyond Wonderful website. Accessed
March 17, 2009.
[4] Stuart Wilson (1996). Understanding, Choosing, and Enjoying Wine. London: Hermes House. p. 88. ISBN 0681-18585-6.
[5] Scienza, A; Villa,P; Gianazza,E; Mattivi,F; Versini,G
(18 May 1990). La Caratterizzazione Genetica Del
Traminer. Gewuerztraminer, Traminer Aromatico. Symposium in Bolzano, Italy. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
[6] Jancis Robinson Vines, Grapes & Wine pg 253 Octopus
Publishing 1986 ISBN 978-1-85732-999-5
[7] Bleisch, B.I.; R.M. Pool; W.B. Robinson; T. HenickKling; B.K. Gavitt; J.P. Watson; M.H. Martens; R.S. Luce
(1996). "'Traminette' Grape. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
[8] Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Taminga
Accessed: August 17th, 2012
[9] J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and avours pgs 469-471, 594-595 Allen Lane 2012
ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2
[10] According to French regulations as of 2011, this variety
may only be planted in Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin.

[11] Maul, E.; Eibach, R. (2006). European Vitis Database.

Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (IBV) of the Federal Agency for Agriculture and
Food (BLE), Deichmanns Aue 29, 53179 Bonn, Germany. Retrieved 2007-08-28.

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

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Gewrztraminer Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gew%C3%BCrztraminer?oldid=724361242 Contributors: Rmhermen, Olivier,

Stefan-S, Andres, Wnissen, Schneelocke, Loren Rosen, Lfh, Neal Finne, Robbot, Bonviveur, Nach0king, Alexf, Burschik, Mschlindwein,
Terabyte~enwiki, Michael Zimmermann, Kwamikagami, Pontac, EvilSuggestions, Justinc, Nwinther, Saxifrage, Camw, Kelisi, Rjwilmsi,
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VolkovBot, TreasuryTag, FlagSteward, Bearian, Mai-Sachme, Andreas Carter, Icsunonove, SieBot, VVVBot, Moonraker12, Lightmouse,
Gewrztraminer, Upisaida, Romit3, ClueBot, Junzi, Henrywilliams58, Rodhullandemu, Daniel Winkler, Tomas e, Lbelkind, PixelBot,
Life of Riley, Truetom, Anticipation of a New Lovers Arrival, The, Addbot, Tide rolls, Luckas-bot, Yobot, KamikazeBot, Rubinbot, Citation bot, Papatt, Enok, Gigemag76, Br77rino, Omar77, LucienBOT, TNplinko, Jonesey95, SpaceFlight89, Trappist the monk, ZroBot,
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9.3

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