Gewürztraminer and Riesling are both white wines that come primarily from Germany and the Alsace region of France. They’re easy to confuse because they have similar bottle shapes and can come in a dry table wine or sweet dessert wine style. However, once you taste them, you’ll know right away what sets them apart.
A dry Riesling is a lean and almost tart wine, with subtle lemon, green apple, peach, and citrus flavors. Gewürztraminer, on the other hand, is a richly textured, mouth-filling wine with lychee, ginger and even grapefruit in its flavor profile. Gewürztraminer is also known for its up front and spicy aromas. Gewürz is the German word for spice after all!
One thing to understand about Alsatian Gewürztraminer is it can have a lot of richly flavored tropical fruit, with pronounced aromas. This can lead some people to taste an element of sweetness, even if the wine has a low sugar content and is technically dry. Gewürztraminer from Germany tends to be off-dry, which means it actually is sweet and generally a more fruity wine, especially compared to Riesling.
You can find excellent Rieslings from Germany for $15+ a bottle in most fine wine shops, but Gewürztraminer might cost slightly more. White wines from Alsace tend to start at $22-25+ a bottle, and that goes for both Gewürztraminer and Riesling. You’ll find them under the French wine section.
Wine Tip: Gewürztraminer is associated with lychee fruit aromas. If you haven’t heard of lychee, they’re a small tropical fruit that grows on trees. They have bumpy red skin but inside are similar to grapes. Some Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand can also have tropical lychee flavors.
How else are Gewürztraminer and Riesling different?
A Riesling is a less perfumed wine than a Gewürztraminer but it will have more precision to its fruit. It’s also generally more elegant and balanced. Riesling is lower in alcohol and higher in acidity vs Gewürztraminer, which has one of the highest alcohol percentages of any white wine. Lastly, Riesling is one of the most versatile wines when it comes to wine food pairings, but Gewürztraminer only pairs well with spicy and intensely flavored foods.
The Gewürztraminer and Riesling grape varietals
Both grapes need to be grown in cooler regions or they’ll be at risk for developing unbalanced sugars and acidity. They grow Gewürztraminer in Germany, Alsace, the northern regions of Italy, where it’s known as Traminer, and in parts of Switzerland and the United States.
Riesling is a much more dynamic and adaptive varietal and you can find it in Germany and France but also outside of Europe, particularly in Australia, South Africa, and the United States – including Washington State and the Upper-State New York.
As far as production levels go, worldwide, Riesling is known as one of the noble grape varieties and there’s plenty of it vs Gewürztraminer which is considered a lesser varietal and is not grown on the same scale.
And while Gewürztraminer and Riesling are both green grape varietals, Gewürztraminer has an almost pinkish hue to its skin. That’s because it’s a mutation of the Savagnin Ros grape, an older varietal from the northeast of France. Ros means pink in French. The pinkish skin of the grape gives the wine a deeper golden color with pink highlights vs the green to pale golds of a Riesling.
Understanding the Alsace region of France
Alsace is a bit different from the rest of France both in terms of the character of the people and the wines they make. To start off, they use the grape varietal for a wine’s name instead of the place where the wine was produced. The vineyards are also divided into smaller growing areas which are owned by different people. Wines from Alsace tend to be made by individual producers who own parcels of land in several parts of the region. This isn’t too different from the German system, which is no surprise given Alsace used to belong to Germany and has changed political hands many times over the past several hundred years.
The Alsace growing region itself is located between the Voges mountains to the West and the Rhine river to the East. Riesling is the most planted varietal in Alsace, with Gewürztraminer coming in second, and then Pinot Gris and Sylvaner. Alsace is famous for its white wines that range from dry and distinctive to late-harvest dessert wines. It’s also known for its gastronomy; they make a lot of gamey and savory food including sausages.
Top Alsatian producers to look for include Trimbach, Domaine Weinbach, Domaine Zind Humbrecht, Albert Boxler, Domaine Ostertag, Lucien Albrecht and Domaines Schlumberger. Note, this region is in France but many of the producers have more German sounding names!
Wine Tip: Did you know Pinot Gris is the same wine as Pinot Grigio? Gris is what they call the grape in France and Grigio is the Italian name!
Food pairings for a Gewürztraminer from Alsace
Because it’s so pronounced in its flavors and aromas, Gewürztraminer is a wine that only goes with certain foods. In fact, it can easily overpower many lighter preparations, especially of delicately flavored meats and fishes. However, Gewürztraminer is a perfect match for spicy food. Here are some of our top pairing suggestions:
- Indian food. If you’re having anything from samosas to tandoori chicken, saag or a jalfrezi curry, try a glass of Gewürztraminer (or bring your own bottle if the restaurant allows it!). The rich texture of this white wine will perfectly complement the heat and spices in your meal, especially compared to a less robust white like a Sauvignon Blanc from France. You can even serve a Gewürztraminer with a spicy vindaloo curry!
- Moroccan food. Moroccan cuisine tends to have a lot of cinnamon and cumin and some sweetness to its meat dishes. Some lamb tagines are made with prunes and they use preserved lemons in chicken mqualli. The Gewürztraminer can carry both meals with ease. Its rich and sweet aromas will be just the invitation you need for an exotic dinner out!
- German and Alsatian cuisine – particularly spicy sausages. If you’re sitting down to a hearty sausage-based dish and you don’t feel like having beer, you want to order a Gewürztraminer. It’s the perfect wine for spicy meats and it will go with the relish and mustard condiments as well!
- Thanksgiving dinner with cranberry sauce and stuffing. If you prefer white to red, Gewürztraminer is a good choice for turkey day. Turkey is a darker and gamier meat than chicken and so you want a more powerful wine to complement it. It will also pair well with the sweet breads, squash, sweet potato and cranberry-based dishes on the table.
More on German wines
Germany has always been known for their white wine production. Riesling is their top grape but they also grow Gewürztraminer. Germany used to make mainly off-dry and sweet, dessert wine styles up until the turn of the century when a new generation of winemakers came in and recognized current trends were leaning toward drier wines. Plus, with global warming, they were finally able to pick the grapes earlier, before they became overly sweet and while they still had good acidity. This has led to a Riesling renaissance of sorts and today over 70% of white wines from Germany are dry. Not only that, but they’ve started growing Pinot Noir too!
Most of the wine growing regions are located near the Rhine and Mosel rivers. However, there isn’t a handy list of top German producers because wineries tend to be small-scale, family-run operations. If you’re looking for a top German wine, you want to focus on the location vs the name of the producer. In other words, there are famous vineyards like Bernkasteler Doctor and Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and different winemakers will produce different wines from the same vineyard.
Top Tip: If you’re looking for a bone-dry Riesling from Germany, it should say Trocken on the label!
Where else do they make Riesling?
Some of the best Rieslings today come from the Eden and Clare Valleys in Australia. These Rieslings are full of citrus, and stone-fruit, including white peach notes. In the United States, they produce Riesling in Washington State, certain parts of California, and the Finger Lakes region of New York, though the vineyards are always located in cooler growing areas. Wines from Washington State tend to be dry to off-dry with good acidity and peach, apricot, and honey-suckle notes. They make Riesling in South Africa too.
The 5 Best dishes to have with a Riesling
Riesling is one of the most versatile grapes when it comes to wine food pairings. A fresh, bright and young Riesling is a go-to for informal al fresco dining in the summer, or to have as an aperitif.
- Oysters and raw shellfish. If you’re putting out some raw shellfish or serving shrimp cocktail as a starter, pair it with a dry Riesling. Riesling is delicate enough not to overpower the subtle flavors in an oyster and it will complement the briny and salty notes.
- Vietnamese pho. Riesling makes an excellent pairing for Vietnamese food which tends to be somewhat lighter than other Asian cuisine. The high acidity in the wine is what gives it the power to cut through the spice in many chili-based dishes, but it will also go well with spring rolls and grilled fish plates.
- Sea bass. Sea bass is a white fish that you can either grill or sauté. It has good texture but lighter flavors that pair beautifully with a more citrus based Riesling.
- Roast pork or pork tenderloin. There’s some debate over whether to pair pork with white or red wine but it all depends on the cut and how you’re preparing it. For roast pork dishes with dried fruits like sweet prunes and apricots, try an off-dry Riesling.
- Grilled or rotisserie chicken. Riesling can go with white meat prepared in so many different styles. If you’ve picked up a rotisserie chicken on the way home from work, stop off at your local fine wine shop for a bottle of Riesling. The citrus and green apple notes in the wine are just the right match for a moist and flavorful chicken breast.
About dessert wines
What’s different about a dessert wine is it has higher sugar levels compared to a table wine. That’s because dessert wines come from grapes that were harvested later on in the year and consequently have greater concentrations of sugar in their fruit. When the wine is fermented, it only reaches a certain alcohol level and you’re left with residual sugar, giving the wine its sweetness.
Both Gewürztraminer and Riesling can be made in a dessert wine style. In Germany, a dessert wine may come in a half bottle size, but this isn’t necessarily the case in Alsace. An Alsatian wine will say Sélection des Grains Nobles or Vendange Tardive if it’s dessert-level and in Germany you’ll see Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese or Eiswein.
Pair a Gewürztraminer dessert-wine with sweet dishes that have dried fruits and cinnamon or fresh ginger, for example cardamom ice cream or pumpkin pie. The sweetness in a Riesling dessert-wine can complement a layered cake with fresh strawberries, peach melba or even an apple tart.
