Gruner Veltliner (GREW-ner VELT-leaner)

A decade ago, gruner veltliner would not have made a top-25 list like this. But its place today is a testament to the quality of the variety and the surging success of Austrian wine. Gruner veltliner is, in fact, the leading white wine of Austria—more acres are planted with it than with any other variety. It’s also the vinous signature of the country; the grape especially excels in the pristine vineyards along the flowing Danube River north and west of Vienna. With the exception of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and a few other smaller areas in Eastern Europe, gruner veltliner is grown virtually no place else. The grape is an ancient natural cross of savagin and a nearly extinct German variety St. Georgener. Going back even further in the family tree, gruner veltliner is related to pinot noir (possibly as a grandchild) since pinot noir and savagin are related. Gruner veltliner has a forward personality. Precise, lively, bold, dry, and minerally, it’s legendary for its lightening strike of white pepper aroma and flavor, along with a subtle hint of green legumes. Like riesling, gruner is virtually never blended with other grapes and is made in a purist manner, which almost never involves new oak. Also like riesling, the grape tends to be high in natural acidity, giving it a mouthwatering quality, as well as considerable advantages when it comes to pairing with food.

Petite Sirah is a clone of Syrah that has small berries.

Answer: False.

Petite Sirah (sometimes spelled Petite Syrah) is not the same as Syrah and not a clone of it, but the histories of the two separate red grape varieties are interwoven. Vines called Petite Sirah have grown in California since the 1880s. In the early days, some of those vines may have been a clone of Syrah that had small—petite—grapes. (All things being equal, winemakers prefer small grapes because there’s a high ratio of skin to juice. Since color, flavor, and tannin come primarily from a grape’s skin, small grapes yield concentrated, flavorful wines.). Back then, Petite Sirah was interplanted with other varieties, creating field blends. As more and different varieties (sometimes misidentified) found their way into California vineyards, Petite Sirah’s true identity grew more and more obscure. Eventually, in the 1990s, DNA typing revealed that most California Petite Sirah is the French grape Durif, a cross of Peloursin and Syrah. Today, some of the oldest “Petite Sirah” vineyards remain field blends of many varieties, including true Syrah, Durif, Carignane, Zinfandel, Barbera, and Grenache. From a flavor standpoint, there is nothing petite about Petite Sirah. The wine is mouthfilling and often hugely tannic.

15.6

Number (in millions) of bottles of wine produced in Great Britain last year, according to Wines of Great Britain—130% higher than in 2017. The UK wine industry is the fastest growing agricultural sector in the… Continue reading

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