“Austrian wines offer the perfect accompaniment to an array of dishes and food styles, from Central European to Mediterranean cuisine, right through to Asian and Oriental dishes: ethnic and fusion food types. This is due to their compact and elegant body and fresh style; the result of climatic conditions.”
This is a statement on the Austrian Wine website, so I was intrigued when asked to taste and match a dozen Grüner Veltliner to an array of different dishes based on my Michelin Star experience. The wines that I was provided with offered an amazing opportunity to showcase some excellent food dishes that would excel with these Grüner Veltliner wines. I was hugely impressed by the diversity of these wines and the unique styles based on age, oak, site and the skills of each winemaker.
The 12 Grüner Veltliner chosen to test Roger Jones' food-pairing skills
How would you describe Grüner Veltliner?
This is a question I am often asked but, having experienced these exceptional wines, I can with confidence say that the grape variety is a marvel that offers a wonderful cross section of tastes ranging from funky, tropical, zesty notes to a sublime world class Chardonnay style. With quality they offer a new uplifting dimension for restaurateurs to match with an array of dishes.
A dozen top Grüner Veltliner with pairing suggestions
2023 Grüner Veltliner Elektra, Nittnaus Hans & Anita
Pairing suggestion: Octopus, chorizo and vine tomatoes
Bright with a touch of spritz and juicy fresh acidity, melon and waxy pink grapefruit, mineral and focused with a steely freshness, hint of quince, lemon grass, the wine evolves in the glass, with some deep mineral and herbaceous notes, mandarin confit and a touch of gun flint.
The freshness and clean-cut feel of this wine along with that touch of spritz will match well to this fragrant rich octopus dish spiced with pimento, cutting through the richness and freshening the palate.
2023 Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Dechant 1ÖTW, Jurtschitsch
Pairing suggestion: Seared loin of venison with foie gras, lentils and apple sauce
Bright yellow peach perfume on the nose, buttercups, summer meadow, textured on the mid-palate with tangerine freshness, yet creamy and full flavour with a lovely bright acidity, very approachable with a fresh lemon zest/ curd finish, custard apples; the wine evolves beautifully on the palate leaving a delicious creamy zesty tang.
This wine has plenty of depth and fruit freshness to balance the richness of the foie gras and sweet tender venison, the zesty finish on the wine will also sit well with the earthy lentils.
2019, Wien Grüner Veltliner Ried Gabrissen X, Christ
Pairing suggestion: Tempura lobster with Thai spices and Thai jam
Touch of spritz on first taste with a vegetative nose, then blows away, bright intense acidity, juicy apples, with restrained stone fruit, youthful but has layers of complexity and depth, gently opens with some textured lime curd and pineapple essence and mango, wet stone, tobacco spice. Lively and exciting on the finish. Stelvin closure.
As this wine has an exotic edge it will give a lovely zing and zang to this deep-fried lobster dish that has refined Thai spices and herbs such as galangal, Thai basil, lemon grass and aniseed in the dish’s flavour profile.
2023 Niederösterreich Grüner Veltliner Generation X, Proidl
Pairing suggestion: BBQ Carabineros Spanish red prawns
Luscious, light, fresh, zingy opening, subtle brioche buns with coconut spice, gently appealing tropical fruit and essence of clean, pure nectarine juice, crisp apple, gentle fresh green herbs; a cracker. Closed in a stelvin closure.
This wine has a great, luscious, but balanced feel, whilst these Spanish prawns are rich with a lovely bouillabaisse surprise inside the head, a teaspoon is always offered with these rare treats. This dish needs a powerful but focused wine full of refreshing nuances, and this wine delivers in buckets.
2019 Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Lamm 1ÖTW, Schloss Gobelsburg
Pairing suggestion: Char-grilled whole wild sea bass
Burgundy bottle, good balance between flinty and zesty, reminds me of a focused, linear wine from the Côte de Beaune, gentle essence of tropical mango and paw paw, then restrained, clean-cut peaches, savoury, grassy herbs, fresh cut summer flowers, lovely structure and depth, some oily, silky feel. After some time in the glass, it evolves well becoming quite reminiscent of fine Chardonnay.
With a wine of this great stature and elegance it is important to keep the food as clean as possible and this dish of wild Cornish Sea Bass is merely split opened and salted prior to grilling on an open fire. Once cooked it is brushed with some extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, served with simply boiled new potatoes and a touch of melted butter.
2023 Wagram DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Rosenberg 1ÖTW, Ott Bernhard
Pairing suggestion: Diver-caught Orkney scallop, Grüner beurre blanc, Oscietra caviar
Ripe, clean, stone fruit, focused, pure linear, delicate, and refined, this wine opens gently, it has layers of beautiful essence of fruit with a background of luscious herbs. Youthful (but will become special in time) or decant and serve in a large Burgundy glass.
I have matched this to a simple but exuberant dish of diver-caught Orkney scallops that are seared for a few seconds each side before being coated in a classic beurre blanc sauce, but replacing the vinegar with a dash of Grüner Veltliner, and topped with some salinity in the form of top notch caviar.
2023 Wachau DAC Smaragd Grüner Veltliner Honivogl, Hirtzberger
Pairing suggestion: Foie gras, scallop and black pudding, PX caramel
Hints of tobacco spice, yellow peaches, tea, hint of durian fruit that then evolves into a beautiful, perfumed wine that oozes class, luxury and such lovely layers of texture and elegance. This gets better and better on the palate and has layers of freshness that help balances the richness.
This trio of goodies (Foie gras, scallop and black pudding) may sound over the top, but they balance perfectly giving a beautifully balanced dish that needs a wine of great quality to enhance both the dish and the wine.
2022 Grüner Veltliner Erdeluftgrasundreben, Claus Preisinger
Pairing suggestion: Char-grilled loin of free-range pork
Deep savoury nuances with the oak quite dominant on first taste but then on the palate it is all about spice, ginger and luscious rich nectarines, pineapple essence, nutty, rich in texture with a lingering, full flavour finish (but still with a ripe quince freshness). This wine with its pineapple and ginger spice is the perfect foil to a whole roast loin of free-range pork served on the bone – one of those great white wines that goes with proper meat.
2021 Wachau DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Brandstatt, Grabenwerkstatt
Pairing suggestion: Sashimi of Cornish tuna, wasabi and ginger sorbet, avocado
Refined lemon zest with notes of quince, followed by white nectarines, fresh, clean focus, lovely purity, fresh green herbs and crunchy vegetable leaves. Flinty/rocky notes, juicy aromatics with tangerine and ginger spice, hints of marinated fennel. Lingers an age and still refreshing.
This wine shouts out for Asian food, and now that we can source great tuna off the coast of Cornwall there is no better time to add some spice to this dish in the form of a ginger and wasabi sorbet, tempered with avocado.
2012 Wachau Grüner Veltliner Steinterrassen, Nikolaihof
Pairing suggestion: Monkfish tandoori
Bottled after 12 years in a 6,500-litre barrel, this has a clean but honeyed brioche nose, with a clear golden hue. Lovely fresh purity on the palate with a delicate lemon curd, white nectarine, and a fresh crème fraiche appeal. Vibrant and appealing on the mid-palate with plenty of freshness, plus a mineral edge, the toasty honeyed brioche notes come back but this is dry and textured and drinking so well.
Despite its age this is still a bright focused clean wine, and has wonderful texture, and will work well with a monkfish cooked whole (to keep it sweet and tender) coated in tandoori spices and yoghurt.
2017, Kremstal DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Gaisberg 1ÖTW, Geyerhof
Pairing suggestion: Shish kebab of duck hearts with Arabic spices
Apricots, white nuts, spiced Asian tea notes, mineral, with crisp clean-cut nori apples, lovely freshness and balance with a pleasant textured finish, hint of perfume well balanced with layers of complexity and freshness. Essence of lemon and lime zest. As this dish has apricots and Asian spices I thought that this Lebanese dish would work well, with the duck hearts giving a succulent but richness with the wine refreshing the experience.
2023 Grüner Veltliner Black Edition, Ebner-Ebenauer
Grilled monkfish cutlet with white truffles and sea asparagus
Elegant, refined, pure class, very much like a Chablis Grand Cru. Great balance between minerality and joyous fruit, from yellow peaches to white nectarines with a touch of mango. There is a delicate creamy background freshened by crisp white apple, lemon meringue notes and a glorious, clean finish that leaves your palate full of bright clean freshness.
A gentle creamy dish of baby monkfish cooked on the bone, served on a saline bed of sea asparagus, buttery sauce and shaved white truffles. The monkfish is sweet, the truffles pungent and the saline of the asparagus shouting out for a luxurious refined elegant white wine with great texture and this Black Edition delivers.
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