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The ABC best buys of today’s release
Lets
face it, even the most stalwart ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) fans have a tough
time coming to grips with Grüner Veltliner or GV for short. It’s not an easy
name to get your lips around. And while some might be tempted to say who cares,
it can produce rather tasty wines. In addition, as Austria’s number one
variety there are thousands of dedicated wine producers out there extolling the
virtues of this unsung grape. I
must confess that my first encounter with GV was something less than auspicious.
It was decades ago in a very boisterous Viennese hillside
heurigen wine bar where I ended up downing copious quantities of dirt cheap,
still fermenting, frothy white stuff. It was not a pretty sight. Today
GV has come of age with wines of classic dimension. Indeed, on a recent updating
trek through Austria’s vineyards, I tried to convince producers to drop the Grüner
(or Green) part of the equation and simply call this wine Veltliner. It would
make life so much easier - imagine a marketing campaign for the “svelte Velt.” Unfortunately,
there are a handful of other Veltliner plantings around, such as Roter (red) and
Brauner (brown) – meaning that Austrian authorities are unwilling to
relinquish the Grüner part of the equation.
Salomon
only produced 1,665 cases of this beauty (70 cases went to Vintages). It
originates in their steep, terraced Wachtberg vineyard, which overlooks the
Krems River (flowing into the Danube) in the Kremstal winegrowing region.
Alcohol is significant (13.5%) and it has high total acidity with 7.2 grams,
which augurs well for future drinkability. Thankfully, Salomon uses the word
“Reserve” instead of “Smaragd” (meaning emerald in German), which is
technically equivalent to the German Spätlese designation. Kremstal and the
adjoining Wachau and Kamptal regions also produce some of Europe’s raciest dry
Rieslings. Another
great buy is the much spicier Moorhof
2000 Muskat Ottonel at only $11.85. I love the lively, honeyed,
spicy, orange Muscat nose. On the palate it is just off dry and light bodied
with spicy lychee and rose petal flavours. This is a great springtime quaffer,
that would work well with curry dishes.
Those
wishing to plumb the depths of Austrian wines can explore the excellent web site
www.winesfromaustria.com
In additional, plan to attend the Austrian
Wine Fair taking place at Toronto’s National Club on May 7th
featuring 22 vintners. For information on the afternoon trade event or the 5-7
pm consumer tasting ($30) contact Birgitta at 416-967-3348 ext. 18.
Closer to home there is Vineland 2000 Pinot Blanc VQA ($14.95) from vineyards located on Niagara escarpment bench. Here is a white that stands up and says hello with its crisp, lively pear and ruby grapefruit flavours. Great by the glass for appetizers or with freshly caught, pan fried rainbow trout.
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Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada
2004 |
All
of this comes to a head with today’s Vintages release, which features a
special promotion of eight wines from Austria. Heading the list is the “must
try” 
The
grapes are grown in the large, relatively flat Neusiedlersee Hugelland region,
which belonged to Hungary prior to World War I. Moorhof’s vineyards are
located on the western shore of the shallow Lake Neusiedlersee. The often foggy,
high humidity conditions are key to this region’s extensive production of
sweet noble rot dessert wines. 
Moving
on to other ABC best buys in today’s release, there is a surprisingly tasty
ditty from Spain’s Rueda region. 
Those
wanting a bigger bang should try