FOOD & DRINK|WINES

Burgundies such as Louis Latour and some New World favorites like Kistler Vineyards from Sonoma and Penfolds chardonnay from Australia, the Grner Veltliner showed it could compete with pedigreed chardonnays for depth, complexity and power. So whats the big deal? Well, Gru-Vee has quite a few things going for it. Its versatile, compatible with many foods and has the potential to gain complexity as it ages. More importantly, its often a great value compared to other wines from more popular places, with excellent vintages in the $12 to $20 price range. The most frequent wine-geek adjectives applied to Gru-Vee include apricot, citrus, mineral and white pepper, and any or all of these might apply. Depending on how the wine was made, the spectrum of expression for Grner Veltliner can range from a pleasant lightweight quaff to a complex, full avored spicy wine that can stand up to even tangy Pacic Rim cuisine. Bone-dry, tart and mineral more often than not, it leads to a common joke among Austrian wine makers: Why drink fruit when you can drink rocks? If youre a fan of dry, crisp whites like Pinot Grigio or un-oaked French chardonnays, this might become your new favorite. If you like big, oaky fruit bombs like Napa Valley chardonnays, probably not. Make no mistake; this is an approachable wine. In fact, it may be the most versatile food wine known to man. It matches extremely well with all manner of white meats like pork and chicken, simply prepared unsauced sh or sushi, seafood risotto, scrambled eggs or even caviar. And its delicious as a cocktail wine on its own. This is an unexplored wine for many consumers and, when thinking of ne wine to drink and pair with food, most never consider Grner Veltliner. But you shouldnt miss out. Try serving some Grner Veltliner at your next dinner or cocktail party and youll undoubtedly be won over by this crisp, congenial wine. Several restaurants around town serve Gru-Vee by the glass with some frequency, so you can always take it for a test drive and decide how it ts. Il Bar at Ristorante Panorama will usually have one or two Grner Veltliner available in their 120-bottle cruvinet, and its been spotted at Tria, Twenty Manning, Jakes, Morimoto and Fork. There are a few options available at the Pennsylvania Specialty State Stores and better purveyors in New Jersey, like Corkscrewed or Total Wine & More, both in Cherry Hill. Try some of these: 2003 Brundlmayer Grner Veltliner Kamptaler Terrassen, $15.99Zesty and fresh, with aromas of lemons and green peas. 2002 Jurtschitsch Sonnhof, Gruner Veltliner Kamptal GrVe, $14.99A striking balance between ripe peach and grapefruit avors with a juicy structure and crisp nish. 2003 Huber Grner Veltliner Hugo, $8.99A combination of pear and citrus pith on the nose with refreshing acidity. 2003 Loimer Grner Veltliner Lois (rhymes with voice), $9.99Fresh and elegant with grapefruit and white pepper avors. 2001, 2002 or 2003 Nigl Grner Veltliner Kremser Freiheit, all around $13.79A chance to host a vertical tasting with different vintages of the same wine from the same producer. An excellent value. Katie M. Loeb These wines can be ordered through your local PLCB store as a special liquor order if they are not available on the shelf. E-mail ra-lbslo@state.pa.us or call 1-800-332-7522.
PHOTO BY STUART GOLDENBERG

Grner Veltlinerthe new white

Feelin Gru-Vee
Grner Veltliner is the sommeliers new it wine.
In these days of anything-but-chardonnay and pinot grigio overload, its stilll possible to nd something new. One crisp, fruity and zingy wine that tantalizes the palate is creating a buzz among the wine cognoscentiGrner Veltliner. Grner who? one might ask. Thats GROO-ner VELT-lee-ner, affectionately dubbed Gru-Vee by savvy sommeliers seeking an easier and more customer-friendly pronunciation. The name actually means green [grape] from the [Tirolean] village of Veltlin. Grner Veltliner is a white wine grape grown principally in Austria. The Austrian wine industry as a whole doesnt make a lot of wine, only one percent of world production, and about 30 percent of that is Grner Veltliner. And the buzz surrounding this wine is growing. Much of the hype surrounding Grner is the result of a November 2002 blind tasting held in London and judged by a panel of wine writers and winemakers that included such notables as wine writer Jancis Robinson, The Observer wine writer Tim Atkin and wine promoter Stephen Spurrier. In this tasting of Austrian Grner Veltliners against other chardonnays from around the world, the top wine and three of the top ve slots went to the little known Austrian Grner. By besting some of the worlds most notable chardonnay-based Grand Cru white
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