GRÜNER VELTLINER

  • Aromas and flavors: can have pleasant citrus and grapefruit aromas, tropical fruits, and lentils, aromas of green beans or asparagus, an engaging “vegetable”, especially when grown in mineral soil, most distinguishing characteristic: the spicy fragrance of freshly ground white pepper
  • Naturally high in acidity
  • Usually a full-bodied dry wine (up to 14% alcohol) with a firm mineral backbone
  • Grows in a few other Eastern European countries, such as Slovakia, Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic
  • Variety is most closely associated with Austria, where it has been cultivated since Roman times
  • Most widely planted grape variety in Austria; most of these vines are in the large wine region known as Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), along the Danube River north of Vienna
  • Currently the best wines from this variety are being made in the smaller districts along the Danube: the Wachau (deep and powerful style), Kremstal and Kamptal (more elegant styles)
  • With lower yields and higher ripeness, Grüner Veltliner can produce stunningly intense and concentrated wines
  • The predominance of primary rocksoils (granite and gniess) gives the wines a massive structure, becoming deeply perfumed and complex as they age( said to be like drinking liquid stone)
  • It’s ability to age beautifully is one of the many interesting characteristics that Grüner Veltliner shares with Riesling
  • Grüner Veltliner also has the ability to capture the essential character of a particular vineyard through its clarity and purity of flavor (i.e. lack of oak treatment)
  • Grüner Veltliner is perhaps the most versatile food wine in the world because of its ability to pair with “difficult” foods such as artichokes and asparagus