Tonight, we are tasting another new wine. It’s Gruner Veltliner. Sometimes just referred to as Gruner. These wines have primary flavors of lemon, lime, grapefruit, and nectarine; followed by notes of white pepper, iris, green bean, radish, tarragon, ginger, and honey.

The best Gruners are perfumed, dry, and full-bodied with high acidity.

This is the number one wine grape in Austria. It can be made into a light fruity wine, a heavier bodied dry wine, and a sparkling sekt.

Serve well chilled, near refrigerator temperature.

We are tasting with a Riesling which I'm guessing will be fairly similar to the Gruner.

Tonight, we are tasting:

1. 2024 Doris and Leopold Gruner Veltliner. Purchased at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. Wine Enthusiast rated it an 88. Bright and lively, with zesty citrus, orchard fruit, white pepper spice, and a touch of macadamia on the finish. Clean and refreshing.
2. 2025 Rieslingfreak No. 33 Reverence of Riesling. I purchased this wine from Costco for $14.99. It comes from Clare Valley, Australia. This winery has Rieslings that have scored upto 98. Fine Wine and Good Spirits called the wine highly perfumed bouquet of lemon thyme, lime, rosewater. This is a dry, fruity, and perfumed Riesling. The winery says it is made for immediate enjoyment. 10.5% alcohol.

We both scored the Gruner a 3 and the Riesling a 4. We would highly recommend both of these wines.

Next week we are exploring Australia.