Grüner Veltliner

Grüner Veltliner (Green Veltliner) ˈɡʁyːnɐ fɛltˈliːnɐ) is a white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The leaves of the grape vine are five-lobed with bunches that are long but compact, and deep green grapes that ripen in mid-late October in the Northern Hemisphere. In 2008, Grüner Veltliner plantations in Austria stood at , and it accounts for 32.6% of all vineyards in the country, almost all of it being grown in the northeast of the country. Thus, it is the most-planted grape variety in Austria. Some is made into sparkling wine in the far northeast around Poysdorf. Along the Danube to the west of Vienna, in Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal, it grows with Riesling in terraces on slopes so steep they can barely retain any soil. The result is a very pure, mineral wine capable of long aging, that stands comparison with some of the great wines of the world. In recent blind tastings organized by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, Grüner Veltliners have beaten world-class Chardonnays from the likes of Mondavi and Maison Louis Latour. Outside of Austria, Grüner Veltliner is the second most widely grown white grape variety in the Czech Republic, encompassing approximately and resulting in approximately 11% of Czech wine production. In recent years a few US wineries have started to grow and bottle Grüner Veltliner, including wineries and vineyards in Massachusetts, at Hazy Mountain's Little North Mountain Vineyard in Swoope, Virginia (Shenandoah Valley AVA)), Oregon, Maryland, the North Fork of Long Island AVA and Finger Lakes AVA regions of New York State, Napa Valley, Clarksburg AVA, Monterey AVA and Santa Ynez Valley AVA in California, Ashtabula County, Ohio, Southern New Jersey's Bellview Winery, Pennsylvania, and along the Lake Michigan Shore AVA of Southwest Michigan. Gruner Veltliner is also planted in Australia, particularly in the Adelaide Hills wine region in South Australia, as well as the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada.