The Grüner Veltliner Grape

(Synonyms: Grauer Veltliner, Grün Muskateller, Veltliner, Veltliner Grau, Veltliner Grün, Veltlinske Zelené, Veltlínské Zelené, Weissgipfler, Zeleni Vetinec, Zöld Veltelini)

Background

Grüner Veltliner is a white-wine grape probably originating in Austria, which remains its primary home, though it is also much grown today in both halves of the former Czechoslovakia: Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Though an ancient grape, it has only achieved note in modern times, having previously been thought of as a minor and undistinguished grape. Even now, some Grüner Veltliner is still grown and vinified as jug wine. Even better-quality GV tends to be somewhat shy in its youth, and well-made GV improves with bottle age. Descriptions of GV wines are therefore more or less all over the map.

The few common descriptive threads are light citrus-y fruit and a white-pepper overtone; beyond those, one variously hears of celery, lentils, and spice. Better samples, when aged, take on body and weight, and are often compared with white Burgundies (mostly meaning Chardonnay). Like Chardonnay, GV can be made unoaked (as with Chablis), in which case it tends also to show minerality, or quite oaky, in which case it tends to the “fat” quality Chardonnays so treated tend to exhibit. In a sense, then, Grüner Veltliner can be considered more than one wine type (again, as with Chardonnay).

There seems to be quite a hierarchy of GV wines, with a lot of emphasis on the exact place of origin. (It has been remarked that “Life is too short to read a German wine label”, and Austrian wine labels [archived page] are said to be worse; You Have Been Warned.) There is a good general discussion of GV types on the Wine Monger site [archived page], which we recommend (as well as their article, linked above, on Austrian wine classification); we summarize its key points below:

Factoid: the now-common name Grüner Veltliner was only established as the norm in the 1930s. Indeed, its explosive popularity (already seen by some as now fading) dates only to a famous tasting session in 2002, wherein some specimens outranked some top white Burgundies. Whether the grape is has enduringly good qualities or is (or was) a fad remains to be seen.

Some Descriptions of Grüner Veltliner Wines

Wikipedia
“According to wine expert Oz Clarke, Grüner Veltliner is usually not very aromatic in its youth, developing more tertiary aromas with age. Instead the grape often shows white pepper, lentil and celery note with some examples showing citrus notes and more full bodied examples having what Clarke describes as a ‘honeyed weight’ to them. According to wine expert Tom Stevenson, Grüner Veltliner is often lightly fruity with noticeable spice and characteristic white pepper note. Well-made examples from favorable vintages can have a similarity to Chardonnay produced in Burgundy. And, like Chardonnay, the variety can be made in an overly oaky and ‘fat’ style. Unoaked examples can exhibit a minerality similar to Riesling. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson notes that Grüner Veltliner is usually produced dry with spicy, peppery notes. It is often full-bodied and with age can take on aromas and flavors similar to white Burgundies.”
Wine Monger
“So how does a glass of Grüner Veltliner taste? It tends to be a crisp, light-to-medium bodied dry wine with an edge of spice. It can have mineral, herbal, floral, and even fresh pea or lentil notes, and it’s known for having a slight white pepper taste on the finish. The grapes can also be harvested late and used to make dessert wine or even Icewine.”
Wine Folly
“The primary fruit flavors in Grüner Veltliner are lime, lemon and grapefruit. There is also a green and herbaceous flavor that is often described as white pepper. However, what makes Grüner Veltliner wine so unique is its signature vein of acidity that explodes in your mouth like pop rocks. More affordable Grüner Veltliner (around the $10-20 mark) loses this acid burst quickly after every sip, but high quality Grüner wine will have a delicate tingly aftertaste.”
Lettie Teague, Food & Wine
“Although Grüner’s signature is a spicy, peppery nose, the wines can be light and simple (a bright and refreshing aperitif) or rich and profound, depending on where and how they’re grown. In fact, a well-aged Grüner Veltliner can bear a close resemblance to white Burgundy in richness and texture; a top Grüner Veltliner can easily mature for a decade or more. Sometimes much more.”
wineaccess
“The terraced vineyards are found farther west, in the regions of Kremstal, Kamptau, and Wachau. Here, what soil does remain is heavily granite in composition, imbuing the wines with hefty stony character. Wines from Wachau are especially prized for their depth and power. In the Kremstal and Kamptau, soils retain their minerality but are still lighter than those in Wachau. Consequently, wines are somewhat more elegant: still steely but not as intense. Thanks to their acidity, wines from all three regions will age well, shedding some of their initial vegetal characteristics while gaining increased spiciness and complexity.”
Austrian Wine
“Grüner Veltliner delivers all quality levels – from light, acidity-toned wines to the highly ripe Prädikat wines. The site and the yield are crucial to the quality. Spicy, peppery versions are preferred; so are versions yielding stone fruit notes. Less desired are wines with Sämlingston – an intense aroma similar to that of the Scheurebe (Sämling 88) variety.”
Wine Searcher
“There are two key styles of Gruner Veltliner wines: the first lighter, fresher and citrus-focused, the second spicier, weightier and more complex. The first category capitalizes on Gruner’s strong citrus characteristics: lemon peel and grapefruit, usually complemented by some vegetal notes and the variety’s trademark hint of peppery spice. These lighter wines are sometimes bottled with a gentle spritz to emphasize their light, fresh style. The second style produces weightier wines which showcase the variety’s distinctive white-pepper character. The wines are dry but richly textured, complex and spicy, so much so in fact that many are unapproachable until several years after vintage. With time they soften and display more honeyed, almost marmalade-like characteristics which match their attractive, deep golden hue. These wines are typically made from older, lower-yielding vines, and are correspondingly higher-priced.”
Stacy Slinkard, about.com
“This grape enjoys higher acidity levels and is known to put forth an inviting range of aromas from fresh, green apple to juicy tropical fruit and from white pepper to mineral-laden nuances on the nose. Grüner-Veltliner is typically a medium-bodied wine that can cover the spectrum of dry to off-dry in style. Grüner-Veltliner can also cover the gamut from being made in an easy going, quaffing style of wine or turned up to a wine of serious complexity with an encompassing elegance and built for long term aging.”
Professional Friends of Wine
“Even the simple wines, from overcropped vines and underripe fruit, can have very pleasant citrus and grapefruit aromas, with a hint of the variety’s most distinguishing characteristic: the spicy fragrance of freshly ground white pepper. Today’s better wines, however, from top sites and lower yields, can be astonishingly complex, full of exotic tropical fruits, white pepper and lentils. They can also show aromas of green beans or asparagus, an engaging "vegetable" smell that is seldom "vegetal", especially when grown in mineral soil. There is a vast amount of ordinary Grüner Veltliner grown in the Weinviertel, a district within Niederösterreich and Austria’s single largest winegrowing area. Although there is some potential here, the wines are mostly of the simple sort and primarily consumed locally at the many wine pubs. Currently the best wines from this variety are being made in the three smaller, adjoining districts along the Danube: the Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal.”
The Wine Anorak
“Grüner has a variety of expressions. Cropped at high yields it can make a pleasant but light quaffing white, but if growers take a little more care it is capable of making complex, full flavoured, spicy whites often with a distinctive white flower and cracked pepper edge to them.”

Some Grüner Veltliners to Try

For a Splurge

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