A German Grüner Veltliner shocked its Austrian hosts by winning the first in a series of international comparative tastings of the varietal in Vienna.
Weingut Weegmüller’s ‘Vom Balkon der Pfalz’ 2011 beat 39 other wines in the ‘Generation Grüner’ tasting at Eckers restaurant on 20 July.
The event included nine wines from Austria, eight from New Zealand, four from the Czech Republic, four from the US, three each from Germany, Slovakia and Australia, two from Hungary, one from Italy and one from Argentina.
In addition, organisers included two ‘pirate’ non-Grüner wines from Switzerland.
The tasting – the first in a series to be held all over the world in the coming months – was organised by Dieter Hübler and Laurenz Maria Moser, partners in Austria’s Grüner specialist producer Laurenz V.
Austrian wines from Markus Huber, Weingut Ebner-Ebenauer and Laurenz V took second, third and fourth spots respectively, with a further two Austrian wines, plus entries from the US, Slovakia, New Zealand, Australia and the Czech Republic making up the top 12.
Judges included wine writers, experts and producers from Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Laurenz Maria Moser described the winning wine as ‘very beautiful’, highlighting its ‘wonderful balance of residual sugar and acidity in perfect harmony’.
‘We are happy to have started this initiative with Laurenz V to evaluate the different styles of Grüner produced around the world, and to find out what might exist beyond the Austrian styles,’ he added.
‘Having a look at the development of Grüner on a world scale might help to broaden the horizon for Austria’s Grüners.’
Further Generation Grüner tastings in London, Berlin and the US (probably in San Francisco) are planned for later this year, with Dubai, Hong Kong and Asia to follow in 2013.
Full results:
1: Weingut Weegmüller ‘Vom Balkon der Pfalz 2011 (GER)
2: Markus Huber Berge Erste Lage DAC 2010 (AUT)
3: Weingut Ebner-Ebenauer Alte Reben 2011 (AUT)
4: Laurenz V Silver Bullet 2011 (AUT)
5: Zocker 2010 (US)
6: Bott Frigyes 2011 (SK)
Jt 7: Weingut Peter Schweiger Heiligenstein 2011 (AUT)
Jt 7: Saint Clair Premium 2011 (NZ)
Jt 7: Lark Hill 2011 (AUS)
10: Loos Weine und Walter Buchegger Loos 2011 (AUT)
11: Karpatska Perla 2011 (SK)
12: Kosik 2011 (CZ)
Written by Richard Woodard
