Wine of the week: Vision Gruner Veltliner 2019

The Vision Gruner Veltliner offers a quality Austrian white wine at a fair price

Doug Caskey, one of the finest people in the wine business, is always giving me a hard time about my aversion to gruner veltliner, the Austrian white wine. So this wine of the week is for you, Doug.

The Vision Gruner Veltliner 2019 ($13, purchased, 12.5%) doesn’t suffer from the things that make me wince when the subject of gruner comes up. It hasn’t been overhyped, it’s not overpriced, and and it tastes like gruner and not a riesling knockoff.

Would I prefer that it was a couple of bucks less? Of course. But it’s still worth buying at $13, because it’s a fine example of gruner. There’s a little riesling oiliness (though it’s not a sweet wine); there’s lots of fresh tart fruit (one tasting note says barely ripe pear, though I get more lime zest); an almost spicy quality; and a clean, minerally finish.

So something for Doug and I to drink the next time we get together – which, given the optimism in the news these days, might be sooner rather than later. We can sit on the porch, sip the wine, and be glad about the optimism in the news.

Imported by Broadbent Selections