Discover BC Gewürztraminer: Aromatic, elegant and uniquely BC
Photo credit: Wines of BC
Gewürztraminer has a problem. Subtlety is fashionable, and Gewürztraminer is a loud-talker. Lychee, rose petals, ripe peach, spice—the grape has much to say before the glass even hits your lips. At a time when restraint, acidity, and bone-dry whites get more serious attention, Gewürztraminer can feel a little behind the times. And yet, BC has not let it go.
Even its skins are colourful. Their pinkish tint can give the wine a deep golden or copper hue with extended skin contact, making it a good candidate for orange wines. It ripens easily, accumulating sugar—and potentially alcohol—while acidity falls. Left unchecked, all that fruit, perfume and texture can become heavy, oily, or simply too much.
The challenge, then, isn't getting Gewürztraminer ripe. It's retaining enough freshness to balance everything it brings with it.
That's where BC should have something to offer: sufficient warmth for ripening alongside cooler sites, significant diurnal shifts and differences in elevation that can help producers retain freshness without sacrificing aromatic intensity.
After the freeze damage and subsequent replanting that reshuffled BC vineyards, Gewürztraminer now sits fifth among white varieties, with 203 insured acres representing about 2.3% of the acreage captured in the provincial report. That's well behind Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling, but ahead of varieties including Viognier and Pinot Blanc. And while Gewürztraminer isn’t climbing the ranks, neither has it disappeared. Rather than being evenly distributed, Gewürztraminer plantings are concentrated in particular Okanagan pockets, like Penticton/Naramata and Summerland.
Gewürztraminer isn't just a curiosity lingering around BC vineyards. It has roots in the province's modern wine history. Wild Goose in Okanagan Falls and Sumac Ridge in Summerland have produced two of BC's most recognizable examples for decades. Wild Goose built much of its reputation around aromatic whites, reflecting the Kruger family's German roots, while Sumac Ridge helped popularize Gewürztraminer during the development of BC's estate-winery era. The physical Sumac Ridge winery has since closed, but the label—and its Gewürztraminer—remain.
The ability to make dry, off dry, sparkling, and skin-contact expressions gives us considerable range to use Gewürztraminer as both a varietal wine and a blending component. It can really excel in the latter category, bringing perfume and tropical fruit character that’s recognizable in BC blends even if you didn’t know it was there. If you haven’t had Gewürztraminer on its own before, you’ve almost certainly had it in a blend.
Food pairing with Gewürztraminer isn’t overly complicated, nor is it the simplest task. Forget the generic ‘Asian food’ recommendation. This wine belongs with Indian dishes like lamb korma, chana masala, or butter chicken. Other delicious options include spring rolls, banh mi, Alsatian flammkuchen, chicken tagine, Persian rice with nuts or dried fruit, and salty cheeses.
Gewürztraminer isn't for everyone, and the criticisms are fair. It can be high in alcohol, low in acidity, excessively perfumed, noticeably sweet, or simply fatiguing after one glass if the balance isn't there. These are polarizing traits.
So I wanted to know whether BC producers could preserve Gewürztraminer's exuberance without allowing it to become heavy. Eight wines offered a surprisingly consistent answer.
Across the samples I tasted, freshness was the common thread.
Some were intensely aromatic; others showed considerably more restraint. They ranged from dry through off-dry and medium-dry, while one skin-contact example brought real grip and a completely different spectrum of fresh and dried fruit. What I didn't find was the problem I was looking for: a wine collapsing under insufficient acidity.
That's significant. BC isn't making one kind of Gewürztraminer, nor should it. These wines had something in common, and it wasn't sweetness, aromatic intensity or winemaking style. It was enough lift to keep Gewürztraminer's natural exuberance in balance.
Gewürztraminer probably isn't poised for a renaissance in BC. Its 203 acres aren't about to threaten Chardonnay or Pinot Gris, and its unapologetic perfume, texture and occasional sweetness will always divide drinkers. That's precisely why I don't want to see it disappear.
BC doesn't need every grape to become Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. There's room for varieties that occupy smaller corners of the vineyard while offering something unmistakably different. After decades in this province, Gewürztraminer has earned its place.
Reviews
Here are 8 British Columbia wines that justify Gewürztraminer’s position in BC.
Volcanic Hills Winery 2025 Gewürztraminer (Silver, Cascadia International Wine Competition; Silver, BC Wine Awards; Bronze, National Wine Awards of Canada)
Despite Gewürztraminer’s reputation for softness, this one, produced from older self-rooted vines in West Kelowna, emphasizes freshness at 12.8% abv and 6.3 g/L total acidity. Subdued apple, cantaloupe, lychee, musk, and blossoms give way to a tart and snappy palate, demonstrating that Gewürztraminer can be smart and sophisticated.
Black Widow Winery 2025 Dry Gewürztraminer
Harvested relatively early on September 8th from Black Widow’s estate on the Naramata Bench, this single vineyard Gewürztraminer is fermented cool in stainless steel. Varietal character is celebrated here, with lively aromas of juicy ripe melon, mango, lychee, apricot, and honeysuckle. The palate is soft and approachable, energized with fresh acidity and maintaining plush fruit through the finish. A well made, modern Gewürztraminer.
Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2025 Gewürztraminer-Schönburger
Blending two complementary aromatic varieties in an off-dry white, this Gewürztraminer-Schönburger champions what Gehringer Brothers does best: crafting delicious, approachable wines at unbeatable value. Brilliantly intense aromatics of candied apple, apricot, melon, lychee, and blossoms are reminiscent of fruity chewing gum, which may have you expecting something similarly sweet. However, the off dry palate is right on the money, precisely balancing freshness with ripe, concentrated fruit and facilitating excellent length. A smart buy at $18.99.
Off The Grid Organic Winery 2025 Gewürztraminer
A friendly introduction to orange wines for the unacquainted, this organic Gewürztraminer is fermented on skins for 9 days like a red wine, before pressing off and continuing an extended cool fermentation in stainless steel. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, leaving an orange haze in the glass. There will be sediment, which doesn’t affect the wine, but can be decanted if you prefer. The nose is layered intricately with dried apple and apricot, caramelized pineapple, orange peel, rose water, Rainier cherry, and spice cake. The palate is dry, with some textural grip and low tannins, offering a generous serving of spiced apple and a considerably long finish. Freshness appears throughout, making this a compelling alternative expression.
See Ya Later Ranch 2024 Gewürztraminer
Crafted in BC, this Gewürztraminer was grown in Washington’s Columbia Plateau while BC vineyards recovered from the severe freeze damage of early 2024. The approach here is fresh and lifted, avoiding any sense of heaviness or density. The aroma and flavour profile is of lychee, ginger, rose, and mirabelle plum, presenting as dry and delicate with an undercurrent of acidity. Smooth and approachable, it lives up to its reputation as one of the label’s most popular wines.
Wesbert Winery 2022 Gewürztraminer (All Canadian Wine Championships: Silver 2025, Bronze 2023)
Cold fermented in stainless steel, this wine then spends 3 months on lees and a further 2 months aging without lees. At 11 g/L residual sugar, this is just off dry balanced with lively acidity. Combining ripe melon, fresh and dried mango, lychee, dried apples, and honey, this Gewürztraminer is showing graceful development, still kept vibrant with refreshing acidity. The full-flavoured palate brings a gentle richness and lingering finish. Wesbert suggests a cellaring potential of up to 5 years, which is nigh upon us. The aromatic complexity presented here rewards opening now.
The View 2025 Gewürztraminer
The winemaking here is unusually elaborate for Gewürztraminer. The View harvests in two passes: one early to retain natural acidity and keep alcohol down, the other later to develop the grape's aromatic character. After whole-bunch pressing with a Champagne cycle, 80% is barrel fermented, including 10% new French oak, while the remaining 20% undergoes a cool stainless-steel fermentation. Three months of lees stirring adds further creamy texture. The subtle spice of both the oak and the Gewürztraminer integrate seamlessly, and harmonize with the ripe orchard fruit to recreate poached pears. Aromas of melon, banana leaf, dried citrus peel, and yogurt precede a soft and slippery palate that offers a classic Gewürztraminer feel, balanced with an elegant and contemporary approach.
Moraine Winery 2025 Gewürztraminer
Sourced from the Lily estate and neighbouring Cossentine vineyard in Naramata, this offers the best of Gewürztraminer’s exuberance in a fresh and gulpable package. At only 11% abv, the wine’s juicy weight and richness come from medium-dry sweetness and fruit concentration rather than alcohol. A tropical perfume of lychee, geranium, rose, green plum, and honeycomb radiates across the nose and palate, laden with ripe orchard fruit yet suspended by rounded, fine-tuned acidity. Moraine’s signature stands out–a vibrant fruit character and long, juicy finish.
Blog post written by: Matt Tinney, Contributor, uncorkBC