Vines & Vinaigrettes: A Gruner Veltliner Journey
Much to my mother’s disappointment, I’ve lived most of my adult life believing that I could never be a salad kind of guy. It’s not tomato; at least it’s a colourful fruit with flavour, body and texture. It can even be sweet. And it isn’t red onion; I do like its spicy tang and the colour it adds to a sea of green. I suspect that the real cause of my aversion to any medley of fruit and vegetables assorted in a bowl and dressed with vinaigrette was all that green leafy matter that was the foundation of almost every garden salad I ever had as a child. I get that mum was keen for us kids to get plenty of vitamin A, C and dietary fibre, but lettuce leaf and spinach have all the texture of straw and the flavour of wet grass!
And I could have lived my entire life in ignorance of the deliciousness of green leaves and freshly picked herbs if not for my rather belated discovery of Thai spice dressing and its match made in heaven, Gruner Veltliner!
Gruner Veltliner is a relative newcomer to the Australian wine scene. It’s a native grape of Austria and does well in their relatively cool climate. In its homeland, it’s had its ups and downs (including an infamous slide in popularity after a chemical used in anti-freeze was discovered in some bottles) but in Australia, it’s been on a rather lineal rise in consumer popularity. Hailing from such a cool climate, it isn’t surprising that it was first grown in Australia at Lark Hill near Canberra where the high elevation and continental conditions were considered ideal. These days it’s the Adelaide Hills region in South Australia that seems to be the epicentre of the surge in quality and quantity of the varietal that put Wachau (in Austria) on the viticultural map.
It may not originate from a winery actually based in the Adelaide Hills, but it was a bottle of the 2022 Samuel’s Gorge “Pinata People Gruner Veltliner” that came to the rescue when my mother came over for Sunday night dinner last weekend. The McLaren Vale based winery use fruit sourced from vineyards in the Adelaide Hills for winemaker Justin McNamee to craft their own version of the Austrian favourite.
As is the tradition, Sunday’s main meal was designed to be healthy after the excesses of “full fat Friday” and “anything goes Saturday”, and on this occasion took the form of a Thai salad with local scallops and Moreton Bay bugs. All of the key salad ingredients had been diligently sourced from the Sunday markets and the dressing made all the zestier by some finely chopped fresh red chili. I’d carefully made a list of ingredients and dutifully sourced them all only to go to the fridge when the guest of honour arrived to realise that I hadn’t restocked! A few bottles of French fizz, a couple of chardies and a semillon, and there, right at the back, a bottle of the 2022 Pinata People GV. Thank goodness!
With its light body, spicy nature and dry finish, Gruner Veltliner is the perfect pairing for most spicy Asian dishes. And the palate weight proved to be optimal for a seafood based Thai salad. Once poured in my favourite Riedels, the Pinata People didn’t disappoint. On the nose there are ample floral notes but once on the palate, waves of stonefruit take charge with nectarine and peach asserting their authority over the undercurrents of guava, lemon, lime and snow pea. At the back end, spice and white pepper emerge and linger through an aromatic and acidic conclusion. Wow!
At only $30 cellar door, the Samuel’s Gorge “Gru-Ve” (as some sommeliers call it) offers remarkably good value. And if your green leaves are served with a spicy dressing, a Gruner Veltliner might prove just the tonic to get your “meat and vegies” family members finally eating a salad!