How to pronounce Gewürztraminer

What is Gewürztraminer?

An aromatic white grape variety producing wines with distinctive lychee and rose petal aromas.

The name joins two German words: Gewürz, meaning spice or seasoning, and Traminer, a grape named after the village of Tramin in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Gewürztraminer is generally described as an aromatic mutation of the pink-skinned form of Traminer, which is the grape the French call Savagnin. The berries are pink to red, but the wine is white.

Alsace in northeastern France is the region most closely linked with the grape. There it is one of four varieties, with Riesling, Pinot Gris and Muscat, that make nearly all grand cru wines and the late-harvest styles Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles. It is also grown in Germany, in Italy's Alto Adige, and in New Zealand, the United States and Canada.

The wines are easy to recognize by smell: lychee, rose petal, ginger and sweet spice. They are medium to full in body, low in acidity and often fairly high in alcohol, and they range from dry to sweet. Because the label does not always state the sweetness, ask before you buy. French labels usually drop the umlaut and print Gewurztraminer.

Gewürztraminer, syllable by syllable

Why Gewürztraminer is hard to say

German spelling is regular once you know two rules. The letter w always sounds like English v, and z always sounds like ts. So würz begins with v and ends in ts, with no English w or buzzing z anywhere. The same rules give you the v in Eiswein and Qualitätswein and the ts at the end of Pfalz.

The ü has no exact English match. Say the short i of "fit" while rounding your lips as if for "oo". English settles for "ur" or "oor", which is why geh-VOORTS-trah-mee-ner is an established English form. Stress follows the German compound rule: the first element of the name, Gewürz, carries the main beat, and the unstressed prefix ge- never does.

Other accepted pronunciations

These are also correct, and Vinolingo scores them as correct:

• geh-VOORTS-trah-mee-ner — Established English form.

Tips for saying it

How to order Gewürztraminer

Say all five syllables at an even pace and lean on VURTS. The English form with "oor" in the stressed syllable is in standard dictionaries and is fine in any restaurant or shop. English speakers in the trade often shorten the name to Gewürz, said geh-VURTS, though German speakers do not use that short form.

• “Is the Gewürztraminer dry or off-dry?” A useful question to ask, since styles vary widely.
• “We'd like a bottle of the Alsace Gewürztraminer with the spicy dishes.” A common match for aromatic or mildly spicy food.
• “Do you have a Gewürztraminer by the glass?”

Names often confused with Gewürztraminer

• Riesling (REES-ling): Another aromatic white grown in Alsace and Germany, but with high acidity and citrus notes where Gewürztraminer is soft and floral.
• Alsace (al-ZASS): The French region closely associated with Gewürztraminer, where the name is written without the umlaut.
• Eiswein (ICE-vine): A German sweet wine style whose name follows the same rule: w sounds like v.

Questions about pronouncing Gewürztraminer

How do you pronounce Gewürztraminer?

Gewürztraminer is pronounced geh-VURTS-trah-mee-ner. It has five syllables with the main stress on the second, VURTS. The w sounds like v and the z sounds like ts, as in German.

Is the w in Gewürztraminer pronounced like a v?

Yes. In German the letter w stands for the sound English writes as v, so the stressed syllable is VURTS. English dictionaries also give a v sound for this word. A version with an English w is often heard, but the v is the native form.

Is it geh-VURTS or geh-VOORTS?

Both are accepted. The German vowel ü sits between the two, and English has no exact equivalent. English reference works show both geh-VOORTS-trah-mee-ner and geh-VURTS-trah-mee-ner. Vinolingo teaches geh-VURTS as the closest match to the German sound.

What does Gewürztraminer mean?

The name is German and means roughly "spice Traminer". Gewürz is the word for spice or seasoning, and Traminer is an older grape variety named after Tramin, a wine village in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The spice refers to the grape's strong perfume, not to heat.

Is Gewürztraminer sweet or dry?

It can be either. Many bottles are dry or off-dry, and Alsace also makes sweet late-harvest versions labeled Vendanges Tardives or Sélection de Grains Nobles. Low acidity and ripe lychee aromas can make even a dry Gewürztraminer seem a little sweet, so check the label or ask.

Sources: Wikipedia: Gewürztraminer, Dictionary.com: Gewürztraminer, Wiktionary: Gewürztraminer, Wine Folly: Gewürztraminer. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.