Mention Grüner Veltliner, and wine lovers will envision an excellent white wine from Austria. From New Zealand? Nope, didn’t see that coming.
What do you think?
What’s your take on varieties in unexpected places … like today’s New Zealand Grüner Veltliner blend?
Just to muddy this geographical image a little more, Grüner’s roots likely go back to the other side of the Alps from Austria, in Italy’s Valtellina region, a steep valley in far northern Lombardy where Italy meets Switzerland.
Valtellina is best known for high-quality Nebbiolo red wines nowadays, but in older times the local white grape made a tasty white for local consumption, a wine good enough that it didn’t take long for its neighbors to notice.
Now imagine German-speaking wine growers in Austria’s mountain regions saying “Valtinella” over and over again until his native tongue transformed it into val-ta-leenah, velt-a-lineh. veltliner! Add on the novel grape’s greenish color and suddenly Grüner Veltliner looks – and tastes – properly Austrian.
Grüner Veltliner is also grown in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with random patches around the world, including a few vineyards in California and, yes, apparently enough vines at New Zealand’s Huia Vineyards to create this week’s featured wine, a blend of 47% Grüner Veltliner, 31% Chardonnay, 21% Sauvignon Blanc, and 1% Pinot Gris.
At Huia, wildflowers are key to our organic practices—attracting beneficial insects, enriching soil, and nurturing a thriving vineyard ecosystem naturally. They are also incredibly beautiful! (December 4, 2024 post on Huia’s Instagram page.)
It’s made by Huia Vineyards (pronounced “Hoo-yah” after the Māori word for “feather”). Located in New Zealand’s Marlborough region, which is surely better known for its Sauvignon Blanc, Huia was founded in 1996 by the husband-and-wife duo Mike and Claire Allan. The Allans recently sold the property to Tom Pegler, and it remains family-owned and operated.
Huia Vineyards is one of Marlborough’s only producers dedicated to the production of minimal-intervention, certified organically farmed wines made with minimal intervention, fermented with indigenous yeast, and aged in stainless steel tanks without the presence of oak. It’s also marketed as “vegan and vegetarian-friendly,” made without the use of animal products for finishing and fining.
“Huia is built on the belief that a natural approach to winemaking produces the best tasting wine,” Huia’s web pages declare. “Our focus is to become more and more in tune with the total environment of the vineyards. Working in harmony with the entire countryside provides balance and longevity.
“Sheep wander through the vines and chickens free roam to provide eggs. Bees pollinate the wildflowers that grow throughout the property and provide beautiful honey. Olive trees are planted on the borders and make delicious olive oil. … Our sustainable ethos ensures our environment remains healthy and beautiful for future generations.”
Austrian Grüner Veltliner is often on the austere side, in a good way: bone-dry and tart, with such a stony mineral character that I’ve heard Austrian wine makers joke, “Why drink fruit when we can drink rocks?” Some of that character isn’t as forward in the Huia white blend, which incorporates both fruit and rocks. But it’s a delight, and while not cheap, certainly an exciting value in the $20 range.
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