GET YOUR GROOVE ON!

The Austrian variety Grüner Veltliner is relatively new to the Finger Lakes... and it's doing rather well.

Grüner Veltliner--

"GROO-ner VELT-leen-er" in polite company, "GV" to its friends.

Terry Thiese, a notable importer of exquisite German and Austrian wines, once opined that if Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc had a baby together, it would be Grüner Veltliner... an especially food-friendly wine typically described as dry, full-bodied, peppery, and/or spicy.

GV has long been as closely associated with Austria as is Malbec with Argentina and Pinot Noir with Oregon. In the past decade numerous Finger Lakes wineries have added plantings of GV to their vineyard acreage, almost as if to complete a "Teutonic Triad" alongside Riesling and Gewürztraminer. As with any other grape variety grown and vinified in the Finger Lakes, some GV's are good, some are so-so... but I am delighted to report that one we recently tasted is downright fantastic--

Weis 2023 GV-- $18-20 at your local store, a tad more at the winery.

We found the Weis Vineyards 2023 Grüner Veltliner beautifully balanced and compellingly delicious, inviting one sip after another. I'd even say that after decades of tasting many of the great bone-dry and tightly-wrapped Austrian versions, the accessible, openly expressive flavors of this Finger Lakes bottling has finally made GV understandable to me.

FOOD PAIRING

With its pleasing vegetal notes-- something considered a negative in most varieties-- GV is habitually recommended as a safe choice with notorious "wine killers" such as asparagus, artichokes, and crucifers like cabbage and broccoli. That strikes me as nothing more than a convenient place to relegate a wine with a name few can pronounce and flavors that can be hard to peg. This Weis GV is particularly versatile-- crisp enough to pair with all manner of seafood, and also sufficiently sturdy to enjoy with pork and chicken dishes. It would also make a perfectly good before-dinner "cocktail wine," a huge step up in sophistication from the way-too-common Pinot Grigio.

This is the kind of wine that makes a dinner host look smart-- an especially delicious version of a grape variety that lies beyond the radar of most casual wine drinkers. If you can't find this at your local store, Weis Vineyards will happily ship some to your door.