Needless to say, Gewürztraminer embodies the heart of South-Tyrolean viticulture: a millennia-old winemaking tradition links Gewürztraminer to South Tyrol (Alto – Adige), which already in the Middle Ages enjoyed an excellent reputation far beyond the borders of the territory. Gewürztraminer from Alto-Adige region, one of Italy’s smallest wine-growing areas, has its most important location in the area around Termeno (Tramin), a town from which took the name “Traminer” where the grape variety has been documented since the 14th century. Not far from Bolzano, steep slopes of 400-600 meters above sea-level (1310-1970 ft.) yield an aromatic wine which seduces with intense fruitiness, a full body, zesty richness and its spicy notes.
The aromatic Traminer is a difficult grape variety to grow but in Alto- Adige it finds ideal growing conditions in sun kissed locations with a perfect diurnal range that enable the grape to reach its full aromatic potential. But it’s in the vineyard and in the winery, that South Tyrolean winemakers show the expertise that is able to create outstanding wines such as it happens with Cantina Tramin’s wines.
Cantina Tramin is the third oldest growers’ cooperative winery in Alto Adige, with a business profile based on its excellent aromatic white wines: wines which embody the fragrance and elegance typical of the regions’ best products. Over the past 15 years, the winery has made enormous efforts to optimise quality, by improving both cultivation in its members’ vineyards and winemaking techniques. As a result, Cantina Tramin is now recognised as one of Italy’s top white wine producers, as proven by the many national and international awards it is constantly awarded. Today it has 270 hectares, across the towns of Termeno, Egna, Montagna and Ora, of which 40 are dedicated to the Selection line. 70% of the vineyard is cultivated with white grapes, the most widespread variety is Gewürztraminer (22%), followed by Chardonnay (12%).
With a long and successful tradition, Tramin’s wines are authentic expressions of a unique terroir, made possible by a common philosophy of commitment to excellence, hard work and dedication. In my humble opinion, Cantina Tramin’s Winemaker Willi Stürz, named Gambero Rosso’s “Winemaker of the Year” in 2004, is the driving force behind the success of the winery and the excellent quality of its wines, and more specifically, for my liking, of its remarkable Gewürztraminer: with more than 20 Gambero Rosso wine guide “Tre Bicchieri”-award winning wines to date, and the 100/100 points of Epokale’s Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate in 2018, the first Italian white wine to obtain this result, Tramin’s Traminers are simply made to stand out thanks to the talent of Willi Stürz, who I had the true pleasure to meet in person. For Gewürztraminer wines, Cantina Tramin has received the top award from the Gambero Rosso wine guide, ‘Tre Bicchieri’, 24 times so far – this results in Cantina Tramin having received more awards for its Gewürztraminer wines than any other winery in Italy.
Wilhelm (Willi) Stürz was born in the village of Tramin. He focuses his expertise on understanding nature in the vineyards and specific cru, on capturing the primary aromas and the character conveyed by the terroir in the finished wines. He has been the technical manager of Cantina Tramin since 1995. He has skillfully led the winery from 1992 addressing its winemaking challenges from the start, guiding its 270 members in the cultivation of their vineyards and introducing cutting-edge technology in the cellar, and after the successes obtained with Gewürztraminer he has identified in Chardonnay the grape capable of excelling in the territory.
“Our approach to innovations is conditioned by the desire to preserve the primary aromas in the grapes – explains Will Stürz-. Growers work rows of vines with dedication and passion, vines which have often been planted by their grandfathers. Even though our company works grapes coming from 260 hectares of vineyards, the small-scale structure of farms enables us to act decisively on each individual row of vines. When grapes are delivered to the winery, we avoid damaging them by furthering them on conveyor belts into the press. The juice is extracted at low pressure and in all phases of the fermentation process we avoid the loss of aromas by eschewing the use of pumps and by controlling the fermentation temperature to prevent evaporation of aromas. This way, we enhance the potential of the grapes”.
The biggest plus to the Train style with Gewürz is the acidity; the grape tends to be naturally low on that account, but Tramin is able to perfectly balance the sweetness with the necessary acidity producing finesse and elegance in its wines. Harvesting the grapes at the right time is key in preserving their natural acidity to achieve a well balanced wine in its freshness and its aromas but above all in the harmony with sugars which gives a higher than average alcohol content. “A long, gradual ripening season is a pre-requisite to produce full-flavoured, aromatic, concentrated white wines whose body is underpinned by mouth-watering acidity – explains Willi Stürz – . Around Söll, where soils comprise a mixture of gravel eroded from the mountain and clay with a high calcium carbonate content all overlaying a bedrock of volcanic porphyry.
Fruity and spicy and obviously highly aromatic, the taste of Tramin’s Gewürztraminer is wonderfully balanced: the range of flavours in Selida 2022 is in line with the ones on the nose, still dominated by tropical fruit such as mango, papaya, lychee, passion fruit, banana, but also orange peel, white peach and pear, with hints of vanilla and spices. Lively and full of energy on the palate Nussbaumer 2021 is round, with a great persistency with full flavors of mango, papaya, lychee and floral (rose petals) and sometimes notes of dried fruits, with a long persistent finish for the flagship Traminer of one of the best wineries in Alto Adige. The Nussbaumer 2015 is a gem: Its rose bouquet on the nose is marked and intense with exotic fruits such as mango, papaya with a hint of pineapple and lychee, all of which follows through on the palate. full body and ripeness of exotic fruit infused with ginger as a result of highly concentrated fruit, due to a very low yield. To drink or to keep in the cellar for a celebratory dinner. The end is long and silky, with mouth-cleansing acidity to balance the medley of exotic flavors. Terminum 2021 late-harvest version is following longer refinement in the bottle for a few months: on the nose it has intense and concentrated aromas of candied fruit, vanilla, banana and sweet spices that are released as soon as the wine is poured and remain on the palate with a magnificent finish.
One of the most fascinating characteristics of this aromatic grape is its strength and versatility both as an aperitif wine and a terrific pairing-partner for a great diversity of dishes coming out of a cuisine full of flavour. Gewurztraminer does remarkably well with not just prepared fish and seafood, but also with more aromatically spiced dishes that might be troublesome from a pairing point of view. Ideal as an aperitif, in combination with various appetizers or canapés stuffed with tasty and pungent cheeses. I would drink it with everything!
