New World Gewurztraminer Wines

Alsace is unique. Geographically located directly south of Germany's Rhine-Pfalz region, the wines of these almost contiguous areas could not be more different, despite the fact that the same varietals dominate both regions. Alsace officially recognizes four noble grapes: Riesling, Gewurztraminer (they leave off the umlaut in Alsace), Pinot Gris (formerly known as Tokay Pinot Gris), and Muscat. In addition, there are varietals largely unknown anywhere else: Chasselas, Auxerrois, and others.

To our knowledge, there are no commercial offerings of Chasselas or Auxerrois in the New World, but there are plenty of Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, and Pinot Gris. How do they compare? We selected definitive examples from California, Germany, and Australia to go head-to-head with their Alsatian counterparts. The results were surprising.

First, an aside. Alsatian wines are, in our opinion, wines of choice to pair with most Asian dishes. Dry Rhône-style whites, such as Viognier and Roussanne, provide a close second. For gentle, complex, perfumed Asian dishes, or robust south Asian curries, you won't do any better than an Alsatian dry white of any varietal.

Our tasting panel compared an excellent example of California Gewürztraminer with an Alsatian counterpart. We selected the superb Dry Gewürztraminer of Claiborne & Churchill Alsatian Style (Central Coast).

This has always been one of our favorite food wines. On a former tasting, years back, we found it the best wine to pair with rare prime rib with horseradish sauce! Whoever would have thought of that? An added advantage is that it is inexpensive: $19.

We compared the Claiborne & Churchill Dry Gewürztraminer to a 7 year old Mure Gewurztraminer Clos St. Landelin Grand Cru Vorbourg ($34). These two wines could easily have been two different varietals. The Mure Gewurztraminer was big and round, with some sweetness. Alsatian Gewurztraminers often feature more residual sugar than New World examples, but they typically have much more body and texture to support the sweetness. New World examples are typically light bodied, even when they contain similar amounts of residual sugar. We prefer our New World Gewürztraminers dry.

Both Gewürztraminers are excellent examples of what this varietal has to offer. If you pair the Alsatian wine carefully, it shines. We served it with Choucroute Garni. It would have shined even more with Alsatian duck or goose. The Claiborne & Churchill Dry Gewürztraminer goes with almost anything - fish, chicken, vegetarian dishes, Asian dishes. Or even as an apértif.

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