Clive Hartley
When a grape variety is hard to pronounce we have a tendency to shorten its name. Gewürztraminer became “traminer” and cabernet sauvignon was shortened to “cab sav”.
So, it came as no surprise that the new kid on the block – Gruner Veltliner – was shortened to “Gru” by the leading exponent of the white grape variety, Hahndorf Hill in the Adelaide Hills.
Gruner is Austria’s most famous white grape variety. Lark Hill in the Canberra District was the first to plant Gruner in Australia in 2005, just a year ahead of Hahndorf. It is now well established in the Adelaide Hills with around 30 producers. Hahndorf Hill loves Gruner Veltliner. They make four different wines out of the variety.
The wine can have viognier like pungency and structure with aromas running from mineral, wet stone, white pepper, floral to orange peel and stone fruit depending on when it is picked and the climate of the region. The richness and texture in the wine is what makes it different from, say, riesling. However, some wines can be on the mineral, wet stone side and be more acid driven. This is especially true with Austrian wines and you need to be aware of what style it is.
In the popular Wachau region they have a label classification indicating the ripeness of the wine. Smaragd on the label indicates a riper style. Hahndorf Hill produce a rich Smaragd style under their Reserve label. Their more classic style is called Gru and is full of white peach and touches of apricots with ripe lemon acidity and dry to taste whist the White Mischief Gruner is a lighter, more aromatic wine. In somewhat of a first I actually liked all four wines.
If you want to stick to local wines, then I’d highly recommend Granite Hills Gruner Veltliner. Owner Llew Knight seems to get some lovely floral characters from his wines derived from his cool climate vineyard. It still carries that tell tale white stone fruit character on a dry, well structured palate. Current vintage sells for around $32.
Coming back to names, sadly some marketeers have used the term “Gru-Ve” Really?
Clive Hartley is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant. Check out his fortnightly radio show on Hepburn Community Radio called “put a cork in it”. Want to learn more about wine? Try his book the Australian Wine Guide (7th ed) – available for purchase from Paradise Books in Daylesford or through his website – www.australianwineguide.com.au
