Smackdown: It’s VELT-lee-ner
Posted on July 8th, 2009 – 7:34 PMBy Bill Ward
We’re starting to see more gruner veltliners on local shelves, and that’s never a bad thing. My Wine of the Week is a fantabulous bubbly made mostly with gruner. This varietal is also the subject of Eric Asimov’s roundup in Wednesday’s New York Times.
These two both come from importer Michael Skurnick (meaning they’re selected by the estimable Terry Theise):
Ecker Weinland Gruner 2007 ($13 for a one-liter bottle with a screwcup that strongly resembles a quart of beer): Light, lean and bone-dry, this summer refresher is that rare wine that could handle veggies such as asparagus.
Hiedler Loss Kamptal Gruner Veltliner 2008 ($15) : Very minerally, almost pucker-y in the mouth before some lush fruit kicks in, this wine has the slate-like texture for which certain gruners are known.
The winner: The Hiedler, if you like having some fruit come to the fore at some point. Which I do, American heathen that I be.
One response to "Smackdown: It’s VELT-lee-ner"
I also like having some fruit come to the fore at some point, so I suppose I, too am an American heathen. I’m working on a project with the Austrian Wine Marketing Board and recently traveled through Austria for the AWMB’s annual wine summit where I tasted many, many Gruner Veltliners.
I think that F.X. Pichler and Domane Wachau make particular nice ones, but there are really so many wine producers in Austria who make delicious Gruners, so it’s difficult to narrow the field down.
But yes, a little more fruit is more preferable to me over a little more pepper, which is another characteristic Gruners are well known for. Pepper can be nice as well, though. I suppose it depends on the food you’re pairing it with. Which reminds me of another cool quality of Gruner, that it is highly food-friendly and pairs well with a huge variety of foods, from asparagus to Asian cuisine, to fried foods and more.
I also read the Eric Asimov piece. Interesting to see Gruner in the news so much these days. Great smackdown, Bill.
Cheers!
