Applewood Winery Traminette

Johnathan Hull has been making wine at Applewood in the Hudson Valley for some time. Recently, at the Bounty of the Hudson I was lucky enough to be able to try his Traminette.

Traminette is a cross of the French American hybrid Joannes Seyve 23.416 and the German Vitis viniferia cultivar Gewürztraminer made by Herb C. Barrett ca. 1965 at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. His intention was to produce a large clustered table grape with the flavor of Gewürztraminer. He sent the cross to the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station grape breeding program at Cornell for development. He soon followed, joining the staff at Cornell as a faculty member and grape breeder in the Horticulture Department. Traminette was found to have excellent wine quality, combined with good productivity, partial resistance to several fungal diseases, and cold hardiness superior to its acclaimed parent, Gewürztraminer, while retaining a similar character.

Traminette produces solid yields, ranging in studies from 12-22 lbs/vine average.

This was a great wine, with a lovely bouquet and a very nice balance of fruit, acidity, and a touch of sweetness. A tremendous wine that would be a terrific wiht cheese as it would be with chicken, duck or salads. And it's great for sippin, especially on a hot day. Fantatstic!