Grape

Traminette

Traminette is an aromatic white grape released by Cornell in 1996 and subsequently adopted as a signature variety in Indiana. Its floral and spicy character recalls Gewürztraminer, one of its parents, while its breeding offers growers a different combination of cold tolerance and disease susceptibility.

Aroma begins in the vineyard

Purdue's wine team identifies the other parent as Joannes Seyve 23-416.11. Christian Butzke, Bruce Bordelon, and Jeanette Merritt, Traminette Winemaking, Purdue Extension, 2010. Its winemaking guide emphasizes sunlight reaching the fruit, which helps develop the monoterpenes responsible for much of Traminette's perfume. A shaded crop can therefore differ from a well-exposed one even before fermentation begins.

The practical challenge is to allow enough maturation while maintaining sound fruit through the changing weather around harvest. The grower's canopy management and picking decisions help determine how much aroma the cellar has to work with.

An Indiana style

Purdue's guide advocates gentle processing and restrained extraction, warning that excessive skin contact can bring harshness. It describes cool fermentation, possible lees ageing, and balancing the wine's acidity with its remaining sugar. These are regional stylistic recommendations, not rules defining every Traminette.

The contrast with Gewürztraminer is useful when the wines are made in comparable styles. Both can be strongly perfumed, but grape identity, site, crop exposure, and residual sugar all contribute to what reaches the glass.

Sources

• Cornell University, “New grapes from Cornell debut in Geneva”, Cornell Chronicle, July 1996.
• Christian Butzke, Bruce Bordelon, and Jeanette Merritt, Traminette Winemaking, Purdue Extension FS-59-W, 2010.