Grüner Veltliner predominates, but Austria has other smaller production wines as well, including two notable reds, Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch. Both are as food friendly as Grü-V, with “gentle notes of cherry and pepper” according to DeBeaulieu. They’re best served slightly cool and are as versatile as their white compatriot. The Corkscrew is so enthusiastic about Austrian wines that they devote an entire row to them.

Austria doesn’t just have wonderful wines, it has a unique wine tradition as well. Heurige are small vineyards (many within Vienna’s city limits) that display a wreath of straw or evergreens each spring and summer to announce that their new wine is ready for drinking (wine made from grapes harvested the previous fall). The custom originated as a means to avoid taxes; only bottled wine was taxed, so the more wine the vintners could sell straight from the cask, the less taxes they paid. Today Austrians and tourists alike still flock to vineyards where rustic tables are set out among the vines and gardens and everyone congregates to enjoy the wine, special foods (often including Liptauer cheese) and gemütlichkeit, an ephemeral term that loosely translates as a social comfortable ambience where everyone is welcome.

I don’t remember when or how I stumbled upon Grü-V in America — perhaps because the label Glatzer, one of the major producers, caught my eye, perhaps because of memories of the Heuriges from my student days. Regardless, my husband and I enjoy Grü-V and other Austrian wines throughout the year, especially in summer.

Give Grüner Veltliner and other Austrian wines a try. I’ll bet you find them, as I do, truly groovy!

Contact Julianne Glatz at [email protected].