Sparkling Wine Grape – Grüner Veltliner

How do you pronounce Grüner Veltliner?

Grewn er – Velt lin er

Where is Grüner Veltliner grown?

The grape is synonymous with Austria where up to a third of the vines grown in the country are this variety. You will also see harvests in Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic along with countries further afield such as USA, Australia, and New Zealand. It enjoys cooler climates.

What are the characters of the Grüner Veltliner grape?

The grape is a white variety and aromatic in style. The flavours and aromas will include green apples, lime, exotic fruits, herbaceous, spices including white pepper, white floral and much more. Grüner Veltliner will ripen late with the vine being open to many vineyard diseases. It is also known as the food friendly grape in that wines, both still and sparkling, work well with a variety of foods from spicy to creamy.

“The grape name ‘Grüner Veltliner’ translates as ‘green grape from the village of Veltlin in the Tirol‘“.

Grüner Veltliner sparkling wines:

There are many sparkling wines that are usually 100% Grüner Veltliner though many of these, especially from Austria, are consumed at home and not frequently exported (especially to the UK market). The popularity of the grape and its increasing awareness on the wine scene means that we will get to see more examples in the near future hitting export markets.

A host of wineries have a 100% Grüner Veltliner sparkling wine in their portfolio. One such winery is Schlumberger, a multi award winning wine production house based just north of Vienna.

Schlumberger – Gruner Veltliner Brut Klassik – Silver Medal ‘Creamy’ – Tasting notes: “Petroleum, creamy green fruits, herbaceous, lime zest on the nose. Fresh crisp and dry zesty burst initially that mellows in to creamy green fruits / apples, exotic, minerals, grassy and more. Very relaxing to enjoy.“