Grüner Veltliner

Grüner Veltliner is produced in Austria, and has had an exciting growth in the last decade in the United States. These Austrian white wines tend to be smooth in texture, medium bodied, and elegant. Not too sharp, not too sweet with aromas of apple, stone fruit, and white pepper. I remember my first experience with Grüner Veltliner at a Brasserie that I worked at in Minneapolis. Like most of my community in 1999, I had not had the opportunity to try handfuls of wine from Austria, and I fell in love with it. It was such a unique style, with almost no market presence. It was, and still is a great way to arrive at a gathering with a conversation piece. Grüner Veltliner has a smooth, medium bodied complexity which will allow you to pair it with myriad selections of fish, white meats, herbal vegetal dishes, and simply impress with a new white wine style.

I saw some Grüner Veltliner planted to vine in Washington, those folks will grow anything. Domestic styles are hard to find because they are relatively small production, and without strong market presence one is taking a leap of faith in their ability to create a demand for the product. The good news is that despite soaring importing costs, a quality Grüner Veltliner from Austria is still reasonably priced.