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Grüner Veltliner is a dry white wine that grows almost exclusively in Austria. It is the country's signature grape and its most widely planted wine grape, accounting for about one in every three vines grown in Austria.

Grüner Veltliner is generally fermented in stainless steel and aged in tanks or very old, large casks. While some modern-style weightier examples may be made using smaller new oak barrels, the majority of Grüner Veltliner wines do not feature oak notes.

The primary fruit flavours in Grüner Veltliner are lime, lemon, grapefruit, and nectarine. It also has a green and herbaceous flavour that is often described as white pepper. Grüner Veltliner is best served ice-cold and pairs well with spicy and rich foods.

Austrian Grüner Veltliner is best served ice-cold and pairs well with spicy food

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's signature white wine grape, accounting for a third of all vines in the country. It is best known for its spicy, peppery aromas and high acidity. While it can be produced in a full-bodied style, the most popular Grüners are crisp, zesty, and best served ice-cold.

Grüner Veltliner pairs well with a wide variety of dishes, from cold meats and salads to Asian fusion cuisine, and is particularly well-suited to spicy food. In Austria, it is commonly drunk with Wiener Schnitzel, asparagus, and potato salads. Its high acidity and spice also make it a good match for creamy or fatty dishes, such as Tonkatsu or Ramen.

The grape thrives in cooler climates and is extensively grown in almost every Austrian wine region, with the finest expressions coming from vineyards above the Danube River in Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal. While Grüner Veltliner is typically fermented and aged in stainless steel, some producers experiment with skin contact and oak ageing to add texture, aroma, and complexity to the wine.

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's signature white wine grape

Grüner Veltliner has played a crucial role in Austria's resurgence on the international wine market. While it was relatively unknown outside of Austria until the 1990s, it has since gained recognition as a world-class grape variety, with its unique flavour profile and ability to produce age-worthy wines. The rise in popularity of Grüner Veltliner can also be attributed to the overall improvement in the quality of Austrian wines, particularly their white wines, which has captured the attention of fine wine enthusiasts worldwide.

The grape thrives in loess soils that offer deep root depth and is sensitive to dryness and flowering conditions. It is a prolific variety, requiring yield regulation, and is susceptible to Peronospora, Pseudopezicula tracheiphila, and chlorosis. Grüner Veltliner is typically fermented in stainless steel and aged in tanks or large old oak casks, although some producers experiment with smaller new oak barrels to create weightier styles.

The wines produced from Grüner Veltliner exhibit a range of styles, from light and acidic to full-bodied and rich. The most common styles are the lighter, fresher wines from the Weinviertel region, characterised by their focus on minerality and citrus notes, and the spicier, weightier wines from the warmer Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal regions, known for their complex flavours and well-structured texture. With age, these wines develop honeyed and marmalade-like characteristics, resembling mature white Burgundy wines.

Grüner Veltliner has also gained recognition in other parts of the world, including the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and New Zealand, although its late ripening nature limits its cultivation to warmer climates. In conclusion, Grüner Veltliner is a versatile and exotic grape variety that has put Austrian wines on the map, offering wine lovers a unique and captivating alternative to more traditional white wine options.

Grüner Veltliner is a dry white wine with flavours of green pepper and lime

The grape gets its name from the German "Grüner", meaning green, and Veltliner, a reference to its possible origins in Valtellina, a region in the lower Alps during the 1600s that is now part of Italy. The grape is likely indigenous to Austria, however, and is grown primarily in the northeast of the country.

Grüner Veltliner is made in a variety of styles, from simple and easy-drinking to fuller-bodied and age-worthy. The wine is known for its spicy, peppery aromas and herbaceous flavours, with lime, lemon, and grapefruit also present on the nose. In warmer parts of Austria, the grape develops riper fruit flavours such as peach and nectarine.

The grape is hardy and naturally productive, and it thrives on soils with high loess content. Grüner Veltliner is typically fermented in stainless steel and aged in tanks or very old, large casks. It is usually produced dry, with spicy, peppery notes, and it is often full-bodied. With age, the wine can take on aromas and flavours similar to white Burgundies, becoming nutty and waxy.

Grüner Veltliner is particularly food-friendly and is a popular offering on restaurant wine lists. The traditional pairing is Wiener Schnitzel, but it also goes well with creamy or fatty dishes such as Tonkatsu or Ramen, and aged versions pair well with hard mountain cheeses.

Grüner Veltliner is grown in the northeastern regions of Austria

Grüner Veltliner is grown extensively in almost every Austrian wine region, but it is in the northeastern regions of the country where it is grown the most. In Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), for example, one in every two vines grown is Grüner Veltliner. In 2012, the Weinviertel region in the northeast, along the border with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, was home to more than half of all Austrian Grüner Veltliner with 8,529 hectares (21,080 acres) under vine.

The grape thrives in the northeast, where it benefits from the warm air currents that blow in from the Pannonian Basin to the east, warming the vines. This area tends to produce more full-bodied wines with peach flavour notes.

Grüner Veltliner is also grown in significant quantities in the Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal regions, where it grows with Riesling in terraces on slopes so steep that they can barely retain any soil. The result is a very pure, mineral wine capable of long ageing.

Grüner Veltliner is versatile and can be light and simple or rich and profound

Grüner Veltliner is a versatile grape. It can be made into wines that are light and simple or rich and profound. The grape is indigenous to Austria and is the country's most widely planted wine grape.

The lighter, fresher style of Grüner Veltliner is typical of wines from the Weinviertel region. These wines are often bottled with a slight spritz to emphasise their fresh, fruity notes. They are characterised by citrus aromas of lemon peel and grapefruit, complemented by stone fruit and vegetal notes, and the grape's trademark hint of white pepper.

The second style is spicier, weightier and more complex. These wines are typical of the top wines from the warmer Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal DAC wine regions. They are richly textured and well-structured, requiring several years in the bottle before reaching maturity.

Grüner Veltliner is also grown in other parts of Austria, including Donauland and the Weinviertel, and in other countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. However, the finest Grüner Veltliners in the world come from seriously distinguished sites, with the greatest concentration of them being west of Vienna on the Wachau's famous south-facing terraces on the bank of the Danube.

Grüner Veltliner wines are typically rich but dry. They are spicy and interesting, with a certain white pepper, dill, even gherkin character. The wines are generally fermented in stainless steel and aged either in tanks or very old, large casks, although there have been recent experiments with barrique-aged Grüner Veltliner.

Grüner Veltliner is a versatile wine when it comes to food pairing. It goes well with meat, fish and even vegetables. It is especially good with notoriously difficult foods for wine, like asparagus and artichokes. Grüner Veltliner is also a perfect match for traditional Austrian dishes like Wiener Schnitzel.

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