Cruising the Danube River in Austria you'll discover centuries-old castles and abbeys along the towering cliffs, quaint villages and terraced vineyards.  It's here where you'll find Austria's most widely planted grape variety, Gruner Veltliner. 

It has been my goal for quite a few years to attract as many people to this wine as possible.  If you've never tasted GV you're in for real treat.  Top critics, sommeliers and many of "us" wine lovers have had our hearts captured with this wine.  Gruner Veltliner grapes are late ripening, sometimes in mid-November.  It's a highly concentrated, weighty wine that doesn't get enough attention.

EXCEPT.....................    in 2002 it bested "grand cru" chardonnays from Burgundy in a blind tasting in London.  This comparative blind tasting was organized by the fine wine dealer and collector Jan-Erik Paulson and hosted by Jancis Robinson. 

Seven of the top 10 winners were Austrian wines with first and third place going to a Gruner Veltliner!

Now you have even more reasons to try it.  ABC currently has the 2009 Hopler GV, a great pasta and salad wine.

Marie/Wine Supervisor ABC North/West Coast