A high quality white grape which produces classic varietal wines, famously in the Alsace region of France. Gewürztraminer is the second most common vine in Alsace and the most widely planted in the Haut-Rhin where it is particularly well suited to the clay-rich soils found in the Vosges foothills. It is normally fermented dry and produces golden, medium to full-bodied wines. It attains naturally high sugar levels far in excess of Riesling and this makes it ideal for sweet, late harvest wines. These can be rich and sweet and the finest can last for decades. It is also planted in Germany, mainly in the Rheinpfalz and Baden regions, Austria, the Alto Adige in Italy and to a lesser extent in Australia, New Zealand and California. Gerwürz means spice in German, although this pink-skinned grape tends to produce exotically perfumed rather then spice laden wines.
