When we thing of the wines of Europe, our minds got to France, Italy, Spain or Germany. How about Austria? Yes, Austria, home of the von Trapp family. The land where edelweiss grow.
Austria is a small country, a little smaller than the state of Maine. Austria
became a republic shortly after World War I. The country went through quite a
bit of upheaval and government changes, finally becoming free and independent
in October of 1955.
There are 19 wine growing regions in Austria. The largest regions are Lower Austria (Niederösterreich); Burgenland and Styria. Thirty varieties of grapes are grown in Austria, the most widely produced being Grüner Veltliner.
Other varietals include Blauer Zweigelt; Blaufrankisch (also known as Lemberger); Welschriesling; Weiber Burgunder; Chardonnay; Riesling and Blauer Portugieser.
There are approximately 20,000 wine producers in Austria, yieling over 66 million gallons of wine! Most of those sell their wines directly from their facilities, though more and more are becoming avilable in other countries. Most wine grape growers are very small and they sell their grapes to co-operatives or other grape growers.
Grüner Veltliner is truly the workhorse grape of Austria. This grape can adapt
to different soil types and can producer larger crops than some other varietals.
The winemakers, who export to the US, tend to lower their yields in order to
concentrate the wonderful tropical flavors and hints of white pepper into the
wines.
The grape does really well in Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal. The latter two producing the most elegant examples.
Grüner, like great German Riesling, has naturally high acidity, which allows longer aging potential. It also picks up flavors from the soil in which is grows (terrior). Mineral and slate can shine through, especially considering the lack of oak used to produce these wines.
The wines are generally dry and higher in alcohol content than German Rieslings, hovering around 14.4%. Grüner is an excellent wine to pair with many different foods. It is especially tasty with food containing cumin and coriander. In fact, most foods go well with Grüner Veltliner. From brunch to dinner! It can even handle tricky foods such as asparagus and artichokes.
Finding Grüner in the US can be a challenge. Not all retailers carry it and if they do, they may only carry one of two. It can be found in varying price ranges. One of the most affordable being Berger, which comes in a 1LT green bottle. Other examples will be found in the traditional tall, skinny Riesling bottle. I have also noticed that it is popping up on wine lists in Portland restaurants as well. Now, get out there and give this wine a try!
Until next time,
Cheers!