As promised, I hunted down a bottle of Austrian Gruner Veltliner this past weekend.  I've been hearing snippets about what a great white it is; it's one of the little darlings of wine officianados and I wanted to get my palate on it.  I'm thinking there might not be that many of you who have tried it either, so drinking this last weekend was a public service. 

I found my bottle at Taylor's Market in Sacramento.  It was a  Gobelsburger 2010 GV for $17.99.  Let it be known, I don't typically choose white as I really love the experience of drinking a glass of tannic, silky red wine.  This experience was fun from start to finish.  I loved the green bottle, cute label and uber convenient screw cap; I rarely miss a cork these days.  I began by pouring a tasting portion in my glass–I swirled at chest level, inhaled and could strongly perceive the aromas of stone fruit, mainly peach, and a few floral notes.  Once I got my nose in the glass I caught the slightest hint of vanilla and honey.  Overall, this wine was exceptionally aromatic.

When I tasted my first sip, I liked it right away.  It was explosively fruit flavored,  crisp, bright and acidic.  I sensed a bit of nuttiness, some lemon and honestly, the darned wine just made me happy!  It went POW in my mouth, as it was zingy on the tongue at first, yet settled out gently with a clean finish.  It was particularly thirst quenching and it just begged me to keep drinking…so I obliged. 

I was in the middle of cooking and drank a glass very easily, poured some in the dish I was making, and then started dipping sliced baguettes in the wine itself, for heaven's sake— and that was delicious.  I'd finished half the bottle before I'd even realized it.

When I followed up my experience with some research in my copy of The Wine Trials 2011, by Fearless Critic, right there, on page 167 was my Gobelsburger Gruner Veltliner.  In blind tastings, this is one of their winning Old World Style White Wines for under $20.  I loved that in the review it says "All in all, it's quite elegant.  Take this bottle to a BYO restaurant, and you'll be the coolest kid there".  I agree, and I'm so excited to have a new white to enjoy. xoxoSusan