Food & Wine · Pairing
Gewurztraminer Food Pairing: Why It Loves Spicy Food
At our tasting bar, Gewurztraminer is often the white that surprises guests. It is an aromatic variety with real weight and softer acidity than most whites, and that combination makes it a natural partner for well-spiced food, whether that means a curry, a washed-rind cheese or a plate of choucroute on a cold evening.
We make Gewurztraminer at our winery above Keuka Lake, alongside our Riesling and Chardonnay, and it is the white we reach for when the food gets bold. The general rules are in our guide to food and wine pairing. What follows is how they apply to this grape, explained through its structure.
What food pairs best with Gewurztraminer?
Gewurztraminer pairs best with bold, well-seasoned food: Thai and Indian curries with moderate heat, Moroccan tagines, Munster and other washed-rind cheeses, smoked fish, pork and the Alsace classics like choucroute garnie and tarte flambée. Its full body and soft acidity stand up to rich dishes that would overwhelm a lighter white.
When it comes to weight, treat Gewurztraminer almost like a light red. It fills your mouth, so it wants food with some presence, whether that comes from seasoning, fat or a sauce. A plain poached fish would disappear next to it, while a chicken curry with coconut milk and ginger holds its own.
What makes Gewurztraminer different from other white wines?
Gewurztraminer has a fuller body, a slightly oily texture and lower acidity than most white wines, and it often carries a bit more alcohol. It is also known as an aromatic variety, one of a small group of grapes famous for how much they give off in the glass. Those traits steer it toward bold food.
The grape has pink-tinged skins and ripens with plenty of sugar, so the wine often ends up with a little more alcohol, and alcohol adds body. Wine Folly describes Gewurztraminer as a full-bodied white with low acidity, and that low acidity is what matters most for food. A high-acid wine cuts through a dish, whereas Gewurztraminer rests on top of it, more like a thick blanket.
That means the dish should bring some lift of its own, such as a squeeze of lime over the curry, pickled onions beside the pork or the sour bite of sauerkraut. With the acidity coming from the plate, the wine's weight and texture take care of the rest.
Why does Gewurztraminer love spicy food?
Gewurztraminer loves food that is richly spiced and only moderately hot: curries, tagines, Sichuan dishes cooked mild, jerk chicken with the heat dialed down. Its weight stands up to strong seasoning. For very hot food, choose a wine with some sweetness and lower alcohol, since alcohol makes chili heat feel stronger.
The distinction deserves a moment, because people often call Gewurztraminer the wine for spicy food and leave it there. Seasoning and heat are different things. Cumin, ginger, cinnamon and coriander are seasoning, and Gewurztraminer's weight holds up well to them. Chili heat is a burn that alcohol turns up, so a dry Gewurztraminer with a bit more alcohol and a five-alarm curry make hard work of each other.
Medium heat is where it belongs: butter chicken, a lamb tagine with apricots, a Thai massaman or yellow curry, Vietnamese pork with lemongrass. For the hottest dishes, an off-dry Riesling is the easier choice, as we explain in our Riesling food pairing guide.
Which cheeses go with Gewurztraminer?
Gewurztraminer is a classic match for washed-rind cheeses, the soft, pungent ones whose rinds are washed in brine during aging. Munster from Alsace is the traditional pairing, and Époisses, Taleggio and Limburger follow the same logic. The wine's full body and texture meet the cheese's intensity head on.
In Alsace, the French region most closely tied to the grape, Munster with a glass of local Gewurztraminer is a standard pairing. Weight explains it again. A washed-rind cheese is soft, rich and strong enough to flatten a light white, and Gewurztraminer has the body to stand beside it. Our wine and cheese pairing guide goes further on cheese.
What Alsace dishes go with Gewurztraminer?
Alsace cooking suits this grape, with its pork, smoked meats, cabbage, onions, cream and bacon. Choucroute garnie, a platter of sauerkraut with sausages and smoked pork, brings fat, salt and sourness at once. Tarte flambée, a thin flatbread with cream, onions and bacon, brings fat and salt. Both give the wine something to hold on to, and both are cold-weather food, which is why Gewurztraminer is one of our favorite whites for fall and winter on Keuka Lake.
- Choucroute garnie: sauerkraut, sausages and smoked pork
- Tarte flambée with cream, onion and bacon
- Baeckeoffe, a slow bake of meats and potatoes
- Onion tart
- Roast pork with apples and cabbage
Dry or Barrel Select: which of our Gewurztraminers to pour?
Pour our Gewurztraminer Dry with curries, tagines, Asian dishes and cheese, where you want the grape's weight with a clean, dry finish. Pour our Gewurztraminer Barrel Select, aged in oak, with richer plates like roast pork, choucroute or a creamy onion tart, since barrel aging gives the wine an even rounder texture.
Oak does to Gewurztraminer what it does to our other wines. It lets a very small amount of air reach the wine over months, which softens and rounds it, and in a grape that already has plenty of body, that pushes the wine further toward the rich end of the table. Both bottles are on our wines page.
Before you plan the menu
- Expect full body and soft acidity from the glass.
- Let lime, pickles or sauerkraut on the plate supply the acidity.
- Welcome bold seasoning, and keep the chili heat moderate.
- Look to washed-rind cheese and Alsace cooking first.
All of this makes more sense with food in front of you. Our Signature Wine & Food Pairing is a seated experience of about 75 minutes that follows the season, and our visit page will help you plan the rest of the day.
Come taste our Gewurztraminer with food on the plate.
How sweet is Gewurztraminer, and how should you serve it?
Is Gewurztraminer sweet or dry?
It can be either. The winemaker decides how much grape sugar to leave in the wine, and our Gewurztraminer Dry is made dry. Many Gewurztraminers feel fuller than their sugar level suggests because of the grape's body and texture.
Does Gewurztraminer go with Thanksgiving dinner?
Yes, especially if your table has sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing or a spiced squash dish. Its weight handles the rich sides, and it holds up to turkey with a well-seasoned gravy.
Should Gewurztraminer be served cold?
Serve it chilled rather than ice cold, around 45 to 50°F. Take it out of the fridge about fifteen minutes before dinner so its texture comes through with the food.
Written by
The Domaine LeSeurre Team
Céline & Sébastien LeSeurre and the team at Domaine LeSeurre — a family winery on Keuka Lake, in Hammondsport, New York. French roots, Finger Lakes soul.
