An Austrian Grüner Veltliner

Many say Austria's best grape...

Salomon Undhof Vineyards

Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s signature grape. If memory serves me correctly, we have already reviewed at least one such offering, but surely not in this column. Austrian wines tend to be pricey. The producer, Weingut Undhof-Salomon was founded in 1792 and are now into the seventh generation. They were the first to export Austrian wines to the United States. The property of 25 hectares (that’s under 62 acres) had belonged to a monastery whose monks primarily cultivated wine grapes and apricots. The Weingut grows mostly Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and a fairly unknown grape variety, Gelber Traminer, which is almost extinct. Here is what Peter Moser, a major Austrian wine reviewer says about the winemaker and its site. “Salomon Undhof wines blend finesse and character with minerality and fruit. Salomon Undhof has produced white wines from the best terraced sites along the Danube, near Stein and Krems ever since 1792. These wines mirror the idyllic landscape of their origin, making plain that the vines growing in the Kremstal winegrowing area are among the best in the world.” Wow, and for under $12. Today’s companion wine is a cheap Hungarian Pinot Grigio.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Salomon Undhof Salomon Groovey Grüner Veltliner 2009 12.5% alcohol about $12

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Description: You know a wine is really starting to catch on when it acquires a 'cool' nickname. Grüner Veltliner is now called GrüVe by the in-crowd. Grüner Veltliner may be difficult for people to say (GROON-er VELT-lea-ner), but it is becoming one of the hippest and hottest wines on the market. Typically dry and flavorful with a peppery or spicy overtone, it is a great match for many fish (especially salmon) and seafood dishes. And now for my review.

At the first sips this wine presented subtle acidity. It was lightly lemony and had a touch of sweetness. The first meal centered on a meatless patty made with textured vegetable protein. The wine was long and fruity. It tasted of slightly unripe grapefruit and was too acidic. When accompanying French fried eggplant sticks the Grüner Veltliner was long and slightly sweet, now tasting of lime. With a high-quality ice cream bar with a thick chocolate the wine the lime taste lightened but it remained long.

My next meal was an omelet brimming with chilies. Now Grüner Veltliner showed light acidity and tasted of peaches. It had good length. With fresh avocado it was light but long, tasting of lemon and lime. The wine showed refreshing acidity but not a lot of fruit in the presence of roasted eggplant brimming with garlic. It was round and slightly sweet when consumed with a fresh tomato. Dessert was Scottish shortbread with lots of butter (32%) that almost killed the wine at first; subsequently it came back.

My final meal was a broiled Atlantic salmon filet marinated and basted in an agave nectar sauce and then broiled and blackened. The GV was too acidic to be ethereal but it did try. It tasted of white grapefruit. Cold beets dampened its acidity which was fine with me. When accompanying green beans in tomato sauce this wine was round and tasted of white grapefruit.

The first cheese was a mild provolone. The wine was round with good balance. With a fairly tasty yellow cheddar it was mouth filling and almost elegant.

Final verdict. This is a close call, but I would buy this wine again. It is no longer for sale in my neck of the woods. The producer’s 2006 Reserve Grüner Veltliner falls into the cracks; it costs about $35 which is too expensive for most of my columns and way below the cutoff for my upscale wine column. I would like to see if I agree with that Austrian reviewer.

Access the companion wine A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wine - A Hungarian Pinot Grigio

About the Author

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine websites include
www.theworldwidewine.com    and    http://www.wineinyourdiet.com

Visit his website devoted to Italian travel www.travelitalytravel.com

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