I'd Sooner Drink Grüner

I remember an Austrian wine delegation arriving at a winery I was working at in the mid 90s. They were on a road trip attempting to introduce Australians to the wines of Austria, and there was talk of a white variety I’d never heard of - grüner veltliner. At that stage it was Austria’s most widely planted variety and still is today.

The Vinea Wachau (Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus) founded in 1983, restricts the production of wine to the legally-defined growing area only, and commitment without compromise to quality, origin and purity.

The delegation was working hard to rebuild the country’s reputation a full decade after the infamous 1985 antifreeze scandal, in which a small number of merchant companies (not producers) doctored their sweet commercial wines with additives. These additives included diethylene glycol (DEG) in an effort to add body and even more sweetness, hoping to imitate wines of higher quality. While the headlines latched onto DEG being toxic and used in antifreeze, in the quantities it had been used, it was harmless. Only a minuscule amount of wine had been dosed, but the result of the scandal on the entire Austrian wine industry was devastating. Exports plummeted over 90% from 48 million litres in 1984 to 4 million litres in 1986, and it took over 15 years to recover.

It’s hard to imagine anything good coming from this - but it did. The Austrian wine industry was forced to entirely rebuild itself, with a focus on quality. New wine laws were implemented (the strictest in Europe) and there was a move by the smaller, quality-focussed producers to market their own wines, rather than rely on the old network of negociants and wholesale wine merchants, who had been responsible for the scandal. These days it’s hard to find a bad bottle of Austrian wine.

All Austrian wines at Qualitätswein level have the red and white capsule as well as a Federal Inspection Number - proof of arduous and rigorous quality control measures.

But back to the mid 90s, and like most in the trade, I thought the group was on Mission Impossible. Why would Australian consumers buy this unheard-of white wine from Austria, when there were similar styles available (such as riesling) made by renowned producers from Germany, France and Australia? I didn't even know what grüner veltliner was back then. Times change. These days you’ll find a grüner on many wine lists around town.

So what to expect of a young grüner? They are generally pale green in colour and have an attractive nose. Typical descriptors include grapefruit, limes, pears and white pepper. They have similar features to riesling, gewürtzraminer and pinot gris and, like them, are lovely aromatic wines with good levels of acidity. Grüner makes an interesting alternative that’s great with food.

Here’s an interesting piece from everybody’s favourite, Jancis Robinson MW: “As a confirmed Riesling enthusiast, I was slow to recognise Grüner Veltliner’s charms. For a long time I thought of it as a poor second to the great Riesling in Austria’s wine lexicon. It took one of several significant blind tastings staged by Munich dentist and fine wine merchant Jan Paulson of www.rare-wine.com to convince me that Grüner Veltliner was truly a great grape variety. It was an audacious exercise. In each case a panel of renowned wine tasters was invited to taste a range of top Austrian Grüner Veltliners, mixed in flights arranged by age, with top Chardonnay-based wines made around the world. Best of all, we in London were allowed to choose the opposition, so it included such names as Montrachet, Corton Charlemagne, Leflaive and Ramonet. Before this London tasting back in 2002, I could not imagine it would be anything other than a walkover for Chardonnay in general and white burgundy in particular. After the tasting I could hardly believe the results: seven of the top 10 places had been taken by Austrian wines, some Chardonnays but mainly Grüner Veltliners - but this was a result that replicated similar ones in the other, similar tastings. This proved to me that Grüner Veltliner is capable of producing very fine, full-bodied wines well capable of ageing.”

Let me tell you a little more about Austria. With around 45,000 ha of vines, it’s not a major producer. To put it in context, France has around 812,000ha, Australia 146,000ha and New Zealand 42,000 ha (source: (OIV) International Organisation of Vine and Wine). Given the cool climate, it’s no surprise that white grapes dominate, accounting for 68% of planting. Grüner veltliner is the most planted variety, accounting for 32.4% of plantings according to the latest figures from the official Austrian Wine Statistics report.

Special attention is paid to the maintenance of the dry stone wall terraces of the Wachau, as these make the extreme viticulture  possible.

I find the Austrian viticultural system a little confusing. There are regions, sub-regions and districts and there are several quality classifications, one of which is DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) status, which is based on the French/Italian/Spanish appellation system and literally means ‘protected Austrian declaration of origin.’ There are currently 18 DACs and they are still being rolled out. In conjunction with this, is a complex German-like quality hierarchy, part of which is based on must weight, ie. ripeness of the grapes when picked.

But let’s concentrate on geography for a moment. Simplified, the 4 main areas, all of which are in the east of the country, are:

1. Niederösterrreich (lower Austria) - 26,968 ha.
   Includes the important DACS of Kremstal, Kamptsal, Weinvertal and Wachau.
2. Burgenland - 11,648ha 
3. Steiermark (Styria) - 5,114ha
4. Wein - 582ha 
   *(figures for 2022/23 from www.austrianwine.com)

You tend to find the best examples of Grüner in Niederösterrreich in the DACs of Kamptal, Kremstal and especially Wachau, which is “acknowledged as the source of the mightiest Grüner Veltliners, mostly grown in terraced primary-rock sites overlooking the Danube.” Decanter, July 2019.

The spectacular Wachau region lies upstream of Krems on the mighty Danube, about 100km northwest of Vienna. Wachau became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2000 and is probably the best known of Austria’s regions, producing some of the country’s finest wines. “Today the Wachau… is arguably the most prestigious (Austrian region), certainly since the 1990s.” Oxford Companion to Wine.

Much of the region is characterised by steep, dramatically terraced vineyards which sit on various types of volcanic rocks, which tend to absorb heat and drain moisture quickly. 

In recent decades there’s been an emphasis on identifying the best villages and their most famous vineyards, which travelling upstream from east to west are:

Domäne Wachau

The iconic Domäne Wachau is one of the most highly regarded producers of single-vineyard wines in Wachau, as well as one of the most renowned estates in Austria. 

Domäne Wachau produces myriad wines and is the only estate in the entire Wachau region to nurture parcels in everywell-known single vineyard of the Wachau. 

The estate is able to access so many of these incredible vineyards, due to a combination of two factors. Firstly, and not actively marketed - it’s a cooperative that prior to 2008 was known as Freie Weingärtner Wachau. Cooperatives are usually associated with lowest common denominator or bulk wine, so the desire to minimise association with the term is understandable. But in the case of Domäne Wachau, its over 200 growers, or vintner families as they are described, not only farm some of the best sites in Wachau, they are overseen by the dynamic Roman Horvath MW, one of Austria’s few MWs, and winemaker Heinz Frischengruber, who Decanter Magazine describes as the “cooperative’s secret weapon”… (who) during the summer is out in the vineyards with the growers every day to supervise the farming and, later, the harvest. Decanter, March 2022.

Frischengruber runs seminars for the growers on treatments, organic farming, and other issues of common interest, and the domaine is Sustainably Certified under the “Sustainable Austria” certification programme, developed by the Austrian Winegrowers’ Association. 

“The result is a spectacular collection of single-vineyard wines,” Decanter, March 2022.

Roman Horvath MW and winemaker Heinz Frischengruber.

Horvath and Frischengruber have been shown to have the truly unique ability to mobilise and energise a large group of growers, who farm the best sites in the region, at the same time providing fastidious oversight. This extraordinary combination has made the estate one of the most highly regarded producers of single vineyard wines in the Wachau and made the duo superstars of the Austrian wine scene. The estate gets a mention, as one of only two, in the Oxford Companion to Wine in the Wachau entry. 

Not only does Domäne Wachau produce some of the finest single vineyard grüners, because of it’s a cooperative structure, it also produces some of the best value. Other similar single vineyard Austrian grüners I’ve recently tried and liked, were at least $10 a bottle more than ones from Domäne Wachau. 

The export manager for Domäne Wachau recently visited Australia and I tasted a few of the estate’s grüners with her. This was my pick. It’s delicious. 

Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner ‘Kaiserberg’ Federspiel 2022

Kaiserberg (the emperor’s hill) was the ancient campground of emperor Charlemagne, who banished the Avars from the Wachau around 800 AD. The vineyard is situated west of the village of Dürnstein, with wines from the vineyard renowned for their superb balance and classical mineral character.

Since the mid 1980s, the Wachau winegrowers’ association has classified the dry white wines of the Wachau into three categories according to their natural alcohol content. Federspiel, a term used in falconry, refers to wines in the 11.5%-12.5% or classic category.

The grapes for the wine were carefully handpicked and the estate has a modern grape receival system that enables the selection of only 100% healthy grape material. The grapes saw a short maceration, gentle pressing and overnight sedimentation (settling), before fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks to retain freshness. Before bottling, the wine was matured on the fine lees (dead yeast cells) for several weeks to add a little extra body and complexity. 

In the glass this is clear, bright gold. On the nose, pineapple and kiwifruit are linked by subtle nutty notes. On the palate, gooseberry and tart pineapple meld with white pepper and stony minerals. Refreshing acidity accompanies persistent pineapple, pepper and spice on this deliciously dry finish.

“Medium greenish yellow, silver reflections. Fine herbal savouriness, delicate tropical fruit, some pineapple, a hint of cardamom, dark minerality. Juicy, elegant, fine acidity, fruity peach, tight-knit, remains well lasting, gluggable finish.”
92 points, Peter Moser, Falstaff 2023  (Falstaff, is the German speaking wine Mag).

“Floral nose and slightly hard on the end at this stage; but a very precise expression of Grüner Veltliner.”

16.5/20, Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com 2023 (a good score from her).

For a grüner of this quality, this represents such good value. 

I can offer it for $39 a bottle. 

I also recently tasted this Australian grüner, which I thought is one of the best local expressions I’ve seen.

Frankland Estate 

I’m a big fan of Frankland Estate which sits in a vast and dramatic landscape of wide-open spaces, about 4 hours drive south of Perth in the remote Frankland River region. The vineyard was established by husband-and-wife wool and wheat farmers Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam in 1988. From the beginning, the couple focussed on minimising the environmental impact of their vineyards, so it was a natural progression for the estate to become organically certified, which it did in 2009. The estate is known for its outstanding rieslings and cool climate shiraz. I think they make not only some of the best quality, but best value wines on the market.

Frankland Estate Gruner 2023

Barrie (who sadly died in 2022) and Judi’s son Hunter Smith did several vintages at Salomon in Kremstal (Austria) in the early 2000s, where he fell in love with grüner. Back home and in 2017 as a trial, he grafted over to grüner, seven short rows of the original plantings (1988) in their famous Isolation Ridge Vineyard. 

The first few vintages of the wine were fermented in barrel, and I have to say didn’t grab me. But this release from the fantastic 2023 vintage was fermented in stainless and is really impressive. 

It was made in a similar fashion to the Austrian grüner above, with the fruit gently pressed and the solids allowed to settle via gravity, before the clean juice was racked (taken off) to a stainless-steel tank for fermentation. Post ferment the wine spent time on lees (dead yeast cells) for several months to add a little weight and complexity to the palate. Minimal sulphur, sealed with a screw cap and 12% alcohol. 

In the glass, this is a very pale, clear gold. On the nose you’ll find baked pineapple, tinned peaches and gooseberry. Fresh passionfruit gets a look in as well. On the palate - peach, lime and minerals accompany clean, lengthy acidity, While its lovely dry finish reveals white pepper, lime and a chic savoury pithiness.

I love this wine and it seems I’m not the only one, with it already receiving a great review this month. 

“Very interesting expression of Grüner here. Papaya, guava/prickly pear, lime leaf, daikon, white pepper, a slight cheesiness too. It’s cool and juicy, fine acidity and talc-like texture, something of a lime margarita flavour, and that prickly pear thing again. It’s long and juicy to close, and quite frankly, delicious to drink. Excellent. Individual, yes, but so good. Tasted: Feb 24, Drink: 2024 - 2030.” 94 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front. 

“A floral juicy and morish wine A combination of spice and dried pear with slight citrus notes on the nose. Stone fruit, dried summer grass and earthy tones are supported by delicate white and yellow florals. The palate is delicate but fleshed out with a touch of generosity and a fine weight and line. The spice and floral mix are undeniably Grüner Veltliner. Fresh bright and delicious, this wine will age nicely and gain complexity. Organically grown, vinified and estate bottled.”Winemaker’s notes. 

See how good Aussie grüner can be.

I can offer it for $34 a bottle.