Grüner Veltliner is the most widely planted grape in Austria, about a third of the vineyards areas overall, and it makes a decidedly dry and lively white wine. But I don’t think that it would have the same place in the world today hadn’t it been for antifreeze.
From antifreeze to dry wines
See, Austrian wines had a really bad rap in the world of wine, starting in the mid eighties when a bunch of producers were caught mixing antifreeze in their wine to give it more body. Yuck. These counterfeits were blends of Welschriesling, Grüner Vetliner and other grapes, and they were trying to compete with the Riesling-based German Prädikatswein which were much higher in sugar. Needless to say, this was not good, not good at all for Austrian wine. Wines from Austria were banned from import in many countries, and even where it wasn’t people would not buy it anyway.
This scandal caused a seismic change in the Austrian wine industry on multiple fronts. First they introduced a bunch more regulations, and this turned out to be a good thing since the quality of the average wine went way up. Second, they started to really focus on higher end wines rather than trying to compete on price with Germany. Last, and perhaps most important for today’s topic, is that they started to focus on dry wines rather than the sweet wines that made them infamous.
It took over a decade but by the early 2000s, Austrian wine had remade its image using Grüner Vetliner as the flagship grape for high quality, dry white wines. Around that time, Gru-vee was the nickname given to these wines, but nowadays it is simply shortened as Grüner. That may be deservedly so because it isn’t in the same family as the other Veltiner grapes. But I digress.
Zing in a glass
If its constant characteristic is the liveliness of its acidity, Grüner Vetliner is pretty susceptible to the yield of the vineyard it is grown in. At higher yields, the grape doesn’t give not much more than its acidity and some very light grapefruit or apple aromas. But when yields are low, a full palette of aromas shines, from white pepper and mineral notes when young to honeyed and toasty flavours with age. Oh, and forget about oak: if it is ever used it would be for texture, not taste.
Despite its name (Grüner means green), it’s not an overly green / herbaceous variety like Sauvignon Blanc can be, so it’s very food friendly. What should you drink it with ? Sashimi, fish crudo and ceviche come to mind. But lighter dishes (think flaky fish or chicken in lemon butter sauce) work well too.
Wachau DAC
So, would any old bottle of Grüner do ? Sure, but if you want a highly distinctive version of it, head to Wachau.
Wachau is part of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) and is one of the most famous sub-regions there. But oddly enough, it only got its DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) status earlier this year. If Weinviertel, Kremstal and Kamptal all got their DAC designation in the first decade of the 21st century, it took over a decade more for Wachau to get its own DAC status.
It may sound bizarre that one of the most historic regions wasn’t among of the first DACs, but I think one of the reasons behind it is that Wachau already had a self-regulating association of wine producers called Vinea Wachau (Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus). Their code of honour (Codex Wachau) was very similar in spirit to DAC regulations.
The very steep hills along the Danube river are planted in terraces with Riesling at the top and Grüner Veltliner closer to the river. The Danube has a moderating influence on the temperature which helps with ripening in the fall, and the cold air flowing downhill overnight helps keep the acidity levels high.
The best sites are on the north bank of the Danube facing south, and they make probably the sharpest, pepperiest version of Grüner Veltliner on the market.
Have you tried it yet? If not, what are you waiting for?
Do you have a favourite producer, or a fun story about Grüner Veltliner ?
Share it with us in the comments section, and in the meantime, happy drinking !