A Kosher Austrian Gruener Veltliner

Coming in at only $12 and kosher to boot...

Gruener Veltliner Grapes

Austria’s signature grape is the white Grüner Veltliner. We have reviewed one similarly priced wine, which incidentally is much less than many Grüner Veltliner wines. Today’s wine is kosher. The winery is located in Burgenland, east of Lake Neusiedl, an area boasting 300 sunny days a year. This area has been producing wine for some 3 thousand years. It’s only about 40 miles (60 kilometers) from Vienna, one of the few wine-growing capital cities. The Hafner Family Winery produced Austria’s first ice wine in 1971 and has been making kosher wine since 1980. They use some 20 white and red grape varieties, both Austrian and international. Today’s companion wine is an inexpensive white wine made from White Maiden, Romania’s Feteasca Alba grape.

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

Wine Reviewed
Hafner Grüner Veltliner 2009 12 % alcohol about $12

There were no marketing materials so let’s start by quoting the partially illegible back label. “This wine has been produced from selected famous Gruner grapes grown in sunny Burgenland, Austria. This unique and typical Austrian grape has special white peppers and a certain « freshness » and is paired with fish and white meat (chicken) or noodles. Serve at 8 –12 º C (46 – 53 º F). ” And now for my review.

Hafner Logo

At the first sips this wine had a bracing acidity and good length with light fruit. The initial meal centered on home made chicken meatballs accompanied by Basmati rice. The wine was round and metallic, and sour but not unpleasantly so. In the face of a spicy tomato, onion, green pepper, jalapeno, lime, and cilantro salsa/salad the wine’s acidity picked up a bit. A touch of citrus lurked in the wings but its fruit was gone. With fresh kiwi the citrus taste came out of hiding. Homemade apple and chocolate chip turnovers rendered this libation round with burnt caramel and light acidity. I had the impression that the wine’s apple met the turnover’s apple or vice versa.

For next meal I enjoyed a honey-garlic barbecued chicken breast. The Grüner Veltliner was lemony and oily with good acidity and sweetness. When paired with potatoes roasted in chicken fat the wine’s acidity strengthened. Fresh pineapple rendered this white almost tasteless with some acidity.

My final meal consisted of breaded spinach and vegetable (corn, carrots, and peas) cutlets made with soy protein. The wine was mouth filling and long, tasting of white grapefruit. Upon meeting some zesty guacamole this wine sweetened and became feathery but could not deal with the dish’s spiciness. Fresh strawberries provided the wine some caramel taste but its fruit was gone.

As always, I finished the tastings with two cheeses. Sharp Cheddar gave this wine the taste of licorice, and lemon/lime. Things were essentially the same when the pairing involved a goat’s milk cheese covered with bruschetta.

Final verdict. This is a close call but I would not buy this wine again, it didn’t strike me as a true Grüner Veltliner. However, if you only drink kosher wine it’s probably worth buying again.

Access the companion wine A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wine - A Romanian Feteasca Alba

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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