Understand the grape
Getting to know the grape
Start with the pepper. Many Grüner Veltliners smell of white pepper as well as green apple, lime or pear, and some add a green, savoury note such as pea shoots or lentils. Producers and regional bodies in Austria use "peppery" as the plain description of the grape at its most typical. Acidity is usually fresh rather than sharp, and most wines are dry, so the pepper arrives without sweetness to soften it. Rotundone, an aroma compound also found in black peppercorns, is the usual explanation for the peppery smell.
The second thing to notice is weight. The same grape can make a light wine for a summer evening or a broad, concentrated white from a warm terrace. In the Wachau, the growers' association Vinea Wachau gives its members three named styles that sort wines by alcohol and weight, so the label tells you a good deal before you open the bottle. Elsewhere in Austria the sorting is done by place: a regional wine is usually the lighter, simpler choice, and a village or single-vineyard name points to more depth. Oak is rarely the point. Many of the best known bottles are made without obvious oak flavour.
Where Grüner Veltliner changes
Grape to place
Compare how the grape grows and tastes in these places. Each guide explains the local wines; the Atlas shows where they come from.
Weinviertel
Austria's largest wine region, north of Vienna. Grüner Veltliner covers almost half of its vineyards, and Weinviertel DAC is a protected name for this one grape, made dry. It was the first Austrian DAC, in 2003. The regional committee describes it as peppery, and it is the plainest place to begin.
Wachau
Steep terraces on the Danube between Melk and Krems. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the only grapes allowed a single-vineyard name. Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd tell you how light or full the dry wine will be.
Kamptal
A valley around Langenlois where hot days and cool nights meet gneiss, loess and river loam. The growers describe regional wine as fruity and lively, and single-vineyard wines as the ones that age and gain complexity. Some estates also make bottle-fermented sparkling wine from the same vineyards.
Kremstal
Both banks of the Danube around Krems. Grüner Veltliner is planted on more than half of the vineyard area. Loess to the east of Krems and weathered rock to the west give a spread of styles, from light wines for drinking young to dense Reserve bottles.
Wagram
A loess area on the Danube whose Grüner Veltliner tends to be ripe and structured. Wagram is also known for Roter Veltliner, a different grape that shares part of the name, so read the grape on the label.
What changes the result
Vineyard and cellar
The ripeness of the grapes, contact with their skins, and time in tanks or barrels all help shape the wine. Here is what to look for.
Stainless steel and large old casks
Most Grüner Veltliner is fermented dry in stainless steel or large, old wooden casks that add texture without noticeable oak flavour. This keeps the pepper and fruit in front. The Wachau's three named styles are all made without oak influence.
Picking date and weight
The vine ripens late and needs a long, warm autumn. Grapes picked early give light, fresh wines with modest alcohol. Grapes left on the vine longest give the fuller wines. In the Wachau, Smaragd is the style made from the longest-hanging grapes, at 12.5 per cent alcohol or more.
Lees and Reserve styles
Some producers leave the wine on its lees, the yeast sediment left after fermentation, for extra texture. Weinviertel DAC Reserve and Kremstal Reserve are dry wines of at least 13 per cent alcohol, and both allow subtle botrytis and oak influence. Botrytis is a noble rot that concentrates the grapes.
Sparkling and sweet wines
The grape also makes bottle-fermented sparkling wine, notably in the Kamptal, using earlier-picked fruit for freshness. Botrytised sweet wines and ice wines exist too, though they are far less common than dry bottles. Neither style is what a plain Grüner Veltliner label usually means.
Read the label
On the bottle
A label may name the place instead of the grape. These names and terms help you work out what is in the bottle.
- DAC
- Districtus Austriae Controllatus, Austria's term for a protected regional wine style with its own rules. Weinviertel DAC, Kamptal DAC, Kremstal DAC and Wachau DAC are the main Grüner Veltliner names.
- Gebietswein, Ortswein, Riedenwein
- Regional wine, village wine and single-vineyard wine. A Ried is a registered vineyard. Moving down the list generally means a narrower place and more depth, and in the Wachau only Grüner Veltliner and Riesling can carry a Ried name.
- Steinfeder, Federspiel, Smaragd
- Vinea Wachau's three dry styles, usable only by its members. Steinfeder is light, up to 11.5 per cent alcohol. Federspiel is up to 12.5. Smaragd is at least 12.5 and the fullest.
- Reserve
- In the Weinviertel and Kremstal, a dry wine of at least 13 per cent alcohol with more concentration. Subtle botrytis and oak influence are allowed. It is a style term, not a promise of a particular flavour.
At the table and in the cellar
Practical use
Serve
Serve light, young wines around 8 to 10°C. A Smaragd or a Reserve can take a little less cold, so the texture and the pepper are not muted. A tall-stemmed white wine glass is enough.
Eat
Grüner Veltliner is a useful white for dishes that are awkward with wine. Asparagus, artichokes and green vegetables suit its savoury edge. Wiener schnitzel, pork dumplings and fresh herbs work with the acidity. Peppery dry wines also go with Asian food, if the heat is mild.
Keep
Light bottles are usually best within a few years of the harvest. The vineyard-named wines and Smaragd can age for a decade or more, gaining honeyed and nutty notes. Check the producer's advice rather than relying on the grape alone.
Taste it in three steps
Three bottles
You can try these bottles on separate occasions. Keep a note of the name, vintage and what you notice, then use the steps below to decide what to compare.
- 01
Begin with Weinviertel DAC
Open a Weinviertel DAC. It is dry, made from one grape and typically peppery, so you can focus on the apple, lime and pepper. Notice how fresh it feels and whether any green, savoury note appears.
- 02
Compare Federspiel with Smaragd
Choose a Wachau Federspiel and a Smaragd from the same producer, and ideally the same village. Both are dry and unoaked in flavour. The difference you notice is weight, depth and length.
- 03
Taste a single vineyard
Try a Kamptal or Kremstal Riedenwein, a single-vineyard bottle. Read the vineyard name on the label and compare how the fruit and texture differ from the regional wine.