GRUNER VELTLINER – CATCH THE WAVE!
( FEELIN’ GRU – VAY! )
Austria Gruner Veltliner is our 2010 Limited Edition that is due to arrive in March. Gruner Veltliner is a grape on the move! For decades, Gruner was the backbone of Austrian white wine production, and that was the end of the story. Until, that is, a handful of importers and sommeliers in the United States and the United Kingdom made the discovery that it was just possibly the food-friendliest wine on the planet – and not just with schnitzel!
In the past decade, Gruner first made its way onto upscale restaurant wine lists; then into discerning wine shops; then onto supermarket wine shelves; then into small vineyard plantings here and there in North America; and now onto the radar of home winemakers. Rising from regional workhorse to global superstar in ten years suggests there’s more to this grape than just good marketing!
Making Gruner Veltliner gives you a chance to be the first winemaker on your block to try it. Gruner is one of those wonderful white wines that takes almost no work – in fact, it hates being fussed with – & pays off in amazing versatility at the table.
First, let’s get the pronunciation straight – GREW-nur felt-LEAN-er is close enough. In most situations, GV will do just fine or you can impress your friends by using the hipper nickname, GREW-vay!
On wine lists and store shelves, Gruner is often grouped with Germanic aromatic wines, like Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, but it couldn’t be more different from its cousins. If white wines can be laid out on a continuum, with floral at one end, herbal at the other & fruity in between, GV is right next to Sauvignon Blanc at the herbal end, not nestled up with Riesling and the floral crowd. Fruit character goes from grapefruity to peachy with a distinctive and delightful peppery finish. It’s always made dry and rarely blended. Some of the more intense Austrian GVs age well for a decade or more, but more often, it gets consumed young for maximum vivacity. The steely dryness and bracing acidity of GV works brilliantly with seafood, but don’t limit it there!
When American winemakers were asked why they got into the GV business, the universal answer was that they liked to drink it! The winemakers @ Black Ankle, Maryland state, “We came at it from the finished wine perspective. It’s a nice food wine; it has enough interesting flavours that it doesn’t just sit there, but it doesn’t overwhelm the food either.”
Paul has ordered extras of this gorgeous Limited Edition 2010, so call any of our stores to be put on the waiting list. Don’t be disappointed! Limited Edition is just that – LIMITED QUANTITIES!!
