Gewurztraminer is a white wine grape variety renowned for its aromatic, spicy character and perfumed bouquet. The name derives from German, literally meaning “spice traminer,” reflecting the grape’s origin and fragrant profile. In context, it refers to the wine produced from this grape, typically full-bodied, with pronounced floral and lychee notes, often with a fragrant, off-dry to dry finish.
US: rhotic /ɜːr/ and a robust r-color; emphasize /vɜːrt/ and fully release /stræmɪ/ before the final /nər/. UK: non-rhotic tendency; the /r/ is less pronounced; vowels are slightly shorter, and final syllable salience is lower; AU: vowel traits similar to US but with Australian vowel coloration and a lightly lifted final vowel. IPA anchors: US /ɡəˈvɜːrtˌstræmɪnər/, UK /ɡəˈvɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/, AU /ɡəˈvɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/.
"The Gewurztraminer from that vineyard has a distinct lychee aroma and a peppery spice."
"We served a Gewurztraminer with spicy Thai cuisine to complement the heat."
"She collects bottles of Gewurztraminer from different Alsace producers."
"During the tasting, the Gewurztraminer stood out for its perfumed bouquet and balanced sweetness."
Gewurztraminer is a name of German origin, from the Alsatian (Franco-German border region) grape lineage. Gewurz means spice or flavor in German, and Traminer refers to the Traminer family, a cluster of related grape varieties believed to originate from the town of Tramin (Termeno) in South Tyrol, northern Italy. The term Traminer originally described a broad family of grapes with aromatic profiles, later subdivided into distinct varieties such as Gewurztraminer, Traminer, and others. The word Gewurztraminer emerges in the modern lexicon during the late 19th to early 20th century as winemakers in Alsace and nearby regions sought to classify and market a particularly intense aromatic clone. First known written usages appear in German-language viticulture texts and Alsatian wine literature around the late 1800s, with refined spelling and capitalization stabilizing in the 20th century as global wine markets expanded. The name itself has endured as a marker of aromatics, spicy notes, and a robust mouthfeel, helping distinguish it from other Traminer variants in wine lists and sommelier vocabulary. Over time, Gewurztraminer has become a staple term in English-language wine discourse, often associated with Alsace and other cool-climate wine regions that preserve its characteristic perfume and lychee-like profile.
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Words that rhyme with "Gewurztraminer"
-mer sounds
-ner sounds
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Begin with /ɡəˈvɜːrtsˌtræmɪnər/ in US English. Primary stress falls on the second syllable cluster “-vɜːrt(s)” or the middle “tram” depending on dialect; a safe pronunciation is guh-VURTS-tram-ih-ner. The first syllable is unstressed? Actually the main stress is on the second syllable “vɜːrt,” with a secondary emphasis on the “tram” start. The “-iner” endings are pronounced as -ih-ner. IPA guidance: US /ɡəˈvɜːrtˌsˈtræmɪnər/; UK /ɡəˈvɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/; AU /ɡəˈvɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/. Audio reference: consult a pronunciation dictionary or Forvo entry for native speaker realization.
Common errors: misplacing stress (trying to stress the ‘tram’ segment instead of the ‘vɜːrt’ cluster), mispronouncing the ‘z’ sound or turning it into a hard ‘s’ like gew-ooz-TRAM-i-ner instead of the Germanic /vɜːrt/. Also some speakers flatten the middle consonant cluster, producing /ɡəˈwɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/ instead of the more accurate /ɡəˈvɜːrtˌstræmɪnər/. Corrections: emphasize vɜːrt as the core syllable, keep the ‘r’ rolled or approximant depending on accent, and render the tram- cluster clearly as /stræ/ not /stræm/ merging.
US: more rhotic, the /ɜːr/ in the second syllable is pronounced with r-coloring; the ‘ Tram’ cluster starts with a strong /tr/. UK: non-rhotic tendencies mean /ɜː/ without r-color, and the cluster may reduce slightly; AU: similar to US but with Australian vowel qualities—slightly higher fronted vowel and a muted final syllable. Across accents, main differences are rhoticity and vowel quality in vɜːrt and the final -ər vs -ə/. IPA references: US /ɡəˈvɜːrtˌstræmɪnər/, UK /ɡəˈvɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/, AU /ɡəˈvɜːtsˌtræmɪnə/.
It's challenging due to the Germanic consonant cluster vɜːrtˌstræm- in the middle, the unfamiliar z/ts sequence after -v-, and the multi-syllabic length with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables. The combination of /v/, /r/, /ts/ and /tr/ can be tough for non-Germanic language speakers. Also the final -ner can vary between /-nɚ/ and /-nə/ depending on accent. Emphasize the vɜːrt syllable, keep the /str/ distinctly produced, and avoid reducing the middle consonant cluster.
Unique nuance: the middle sequence tram-i- can be heard as /stræmɪn/ or /stræmɪnə/ depending on whether the final -er is voiced. Ensure you pronounce the initial 'Ge-' as a soft 'g' /ɡə/ rather than a hard 'g' or 'j' sound. The key is to maintain the two primary chunks: /ɡəˈvɜːrt/ and /stræmɪnə/ with clear separation between them.
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