Gewurztraminer, meaning the spicy traminer grape is in the gris category.
In other words, its skin is lightly pigmented at the time of ripeness.
It is usually pressed slowly in order to soak out flavor components from the skin,
but hopefully not so slowly,
that it picks up color from the skin since it is going to be made into a white wine.
Gewurztraminer is an important member of what is referred to
as The Aromatic Whites.
This group includes Riesling of course, but also Sauvignon blanc,
Viognier, Muscat, Torrontes, and a few others.
The old world examples from whom we draw our inspiration are in the warmer
districts of otherwise rather cool wine-growing regions of Germany and
Alsace in France.
The German wine-growing region has places that are warm enough, as Germany goes,
to ripen the grapes to their spicy potential.
Remember, gewurz means spicy, with a good amount of acid still contained in them.
In Alsace, the grapes can ripen even further, thanks to their
extended ripening season in the rain shadow of the Vosges Mountains.
Many New World grape growers have a bit of Gewurztraminer, but
if their climate is too warm, the dramatic, spicy aromas are somewhat muted.
Gewurztraminer is very floral with hints of daphne and
citrus blossom and rose petal and honeysuckle.
Lychee can be detect, as well as lilac and citrus zest and some say bergamot.
Riesling is never oaked, it may be cellared for
a period of time in large passive oak containers, but
these oak containers would be neutral, in other words, not imparting any oak flavor.
The German Gewurztraminers are fairly firm in acid, but
lighter in body since they contain less alcohol.
In Alsace, the acidity is more moderate and
the body is much fuller because of the greater ripening at the time of harvest,
and sometimes these rinds are almost unctuous.
Both Riesling and
Gewurztraminers have aromatic molecules in their skins called terpenes.
The most prevalent terpene that we find is Linalool which delivers heavy,
spicy, floral notes.
Gewurztraminer can be tricky to make into wine precisely because it's intense
spiciness has to be kept in balance with other odors and flavors in the wine.
We'll see more and more Gewurztraminer in the marketplace, because it should be able
to ride the coattails of the rising popularity of Riesling.