When you think of Austria, what comes to mind? Beautiful mountains and picturesque valleys? Strauss waltzes? Wienerschnitzel? Mozart? Pastries? (what we call “Danish” are known in Denmark as weinerbrød – “Vienna bread”) Maria and the Von Trapp kids singing “Do-Re-Mi”? The pristine white stallions of Vienna’s Spanish Riding School performing their “airs above the ground” leaps and balletesque movements? How about wine? If not, then you might want to add it to the list, because Austria produces some of the finest, most food-friendly wines in the world.
Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s best known, best loved wine, made from grapes of the same name. (Most new world wines — those from America, South America, Australia, etc., are labeled by their predominant or sole grape variety as in Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, etc. European wine labels often refer to a region rather to a grape variety, such as Chianti, Burgundy, Champagne, etc., even though each region usually utilizes a specific grape variety, varieties, or blend.)
The name Grüner Veltliner can be a mouthful for those unacquainted with the German language, and in the U.S. is often referred to as Grü-V (groovy). Until fairly recently it was almost unknown in the U.S., but is becoming increasingly popular here. In the book What to Drink With What You Eat, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, top American sommeliers offer advice and opinions about food and drinks, ranging from wine and beer to coffee and other non-alcoholic beverages. They’re enthusiastic about Grü-V: “When in doubt, get Grüner Veltliner and you’ll be OK,” says one.
Others comment, “Chefs that care about food and like wine like Grüner Veltliner and will recommend it.”; and “Once you get people to taste it, they find they love it!” Getting people to taste it is indeed the key. “It’s a hard sell,” says the Corkscrew’s Michael DeBeaulieu, meaning that it’s a wine that folks need to have described before they buy. DeBeaulieu says that many people have the misconception that all German or Germanic wines are cloyingly sweet and have little depth of flavor.
Nothing could be further from cloyingly sweet that Grü-V. “It’s a racy dry white with pinpoint precision and jazzy acidity that has great finesse,” says DeBeaulieu. “It awakens the palate.” Not that all Grü-Vs are exactly alike. There are entry-level (usually inexpensive) light-bodied versions, and others with richness and a long finish. But all have a high acid content, giving Grü-V a much longer shelf life than many whites — it can drink well for as long as 10 to 20 years, all the while developing flavor and golden hues.
“Made for food pairing” and “food-friendly” are phrases often heard in connection with Grü-V. And indeed it is. It’s one of the few (some say the only) wines that pair well with asparagus and artichokes, two of the most notoriously difficult foods to match with wine. It’s great with spicy ethnic cuisines, seafood, chicken — in fact, almost everything, although it wouldn’t be my first choice with, say, a grilled steak, braised lamb shanks, or beef stew. But I’d happily drink it with barbequed ribs or chicken.
