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Gewurztraminer
This rich, fruity wine complements the creaminess of cheese and is the ideal companion to a curry
While too powerful and spicy for most fish dishes, gewürztraminer is a great match with fairly powerful cheese such as Munster from its native Alsace and some of Europe’s richer goats’ cheeses, or a strong cheddar. Its moderate acidity helps cut through fattiness, while its rich ripe fruits cope admirably with the creamy, musty flavours.
A good spicy gewürztraminer will also go fabulously with all sorts of medium-spiced curry. The acidity cuts through the heat while the fruit flavours cleanse and purify the mouth ready for the next forkful.
Cheat Sheet
- Getting back to its roots
- The first noted presence of gewürztraminer was around 1000AD, in the Italian Tirol, where the Traminer grape was cultivated.
- In the pink
- Although in the vast majority of gewürztraminer is white, both red and rose versions are made from the same grape family. These include Traminer Musque and Traminer Aromatico.
- Highs and Lows
- Low-acid/high alcohol can be the result of a badly made gewurztraminer, with some hitting a high 14 percent or so on the alcohol register.
- On sight
- Gewurtztraminer is one of the varieties that can be identified by connoisseurs by its colour alone, because of its slightly peachy glow and lovely mid-gold colouring.