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Wine Pairing Weekend Group Explores Grüner Veltliner
In September, our Wine Pairing Weekend group is diving into Grüner Veltliner, the “home grape” of Austria. Move down farther in this post to see all the great pairing ideas our group has developed, and join our Twitter chat!

Is Grüner Veltliner the next big “thing”? Maybe it should be…

The Next Big Thing
Grüner (Grooner, in case you’re wondering) is a light to medium bodied highly acidic wine, typically bone dry. These characteristics make it an excellent and highly adaptable partner to all sorts of foods. The grape is grown outside Austria, but if you’re exploring, Austrian Grüner Veltliner is a great place to start. A few years ago, it was proclaimed the “Next Big Thing” which, in my experience is the kiss of death! This was really unfair, as the wine deserves more attention.

Grüner Veltliner offers high acidity with no oak, perfect for a wide variety of foods.

Weingut Bernhard Ott ‘Am Berg’ Grüner Veltliner 2014 ($25 at South Lyndale Liquour)
Eye: Clear, pale lemon
Nose: Clean, citrus with a vegetal edge. When I first opened the bottle, I immediately thought, “a perfect asparagus wine”. It’s not overpowering, but you’ll notice it.
Mouth: The combination of high acidity with a bit fuller body than a typical Sauvignon Blanc allows this wine to stand up to richer foods.  The alcohol is only 11.5%, but the body seems richer than the alcohol would indicate.

One of my faves: bacon, blue cheese and ripe pears.

Pizza Wine?
I started this post thinking about an unusual pairing for Grüner, and pizza came to mind.  Not your basic Pizza Hut cheese, salt and fatty meat bomb, but a more modern interpretation, such as flatbreads and thin crust pizzas with artisan ingredients (yes, with fatty meats and cheese!). When we tested out the theory with a wide variety of pizzas at our party, we found that Grüner Veltliner was more than up to the task. It had enough body and the acidity just cut through all those highly flavored and rich toppings. In fact, the next time we order Pizza Hut, I’m going to open a Grüner!(click on any photo to enter slide show, ‘escape’ to return)

Light to medium bodied with high acidity, Grüner Veltliner goes great with a wide variety of foods.

Variety is key in a pizza party: white & red sauce, multiple cheeses and toppings

Casey (in blue) with her fellow pizza artists, Devon and Emily

Does your oven go over 500°F, that’s what you want for pizza.

Bacon, blue cheese and ripe pears, a perfect pizza for Grüner Veltliner

They saved me a piece of each pizza, what variety!

Ever creative, we finished with a chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip & marshmallow pizza. I need to figure out a graham cracker crust!

Wine Pairing Weekend and Grüner Veltliner
We hope you’ll join us for our exploration of Grüner Veltliner in the glass and at the table.   Our posts will all go live Saturday morning, September 10th.  Read up and join our chat on Twitter at #WinePW starting at 11am EDT/8amPDT.

• Michelle of Rockin Red Blog tell us Why You Should be Drinking Grüner Veltliner.
• Jill of L’Occassion recommends we Go Ahead and Say It: Grüner Veltliner
• Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla is dishing- Herbs, Bitter Greens, and Halibut Cheeks with Grüner Veltliner
• Sarah of Curious Cuisinere tempts us with Backhendl (Austrian Fried Chicken) and Grüner Veltliner
• Nancy of Pull that Cork will be offering Grüner Veltliner: A Pair of Pear(ings) for #winePW
• Lori of Dracaena Wines will be sending A Message in a Bottle From Austria
• David of Cooking Chat presents a healthy Kale and Tempeh Curry with Grüner
• Jeff of FoodWineClick asks the question Is Grüner Veltliner Your Next Pizza Wine?
• Lauren of the The Swirling Dervish proclaims Gruner Veltliner: A Lot Easier to Drink than It is to Say
• Cindy of Grape Experiences recommends we Wine and Dine: Gruner Veltliner and Salmon Teriyaki with Garlic Baby Potatoes
• Jade of Tasting Pour serves up Shrimp and Corn Soup with Gruner Veltlner
• Wendy of A Day In The Life On The Farm presents Germany collides with Asia for #WinePW
• Julie of Wine N Friends proffers an Emotional Connection with Grüner Veltliner
• Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog shares A Taste of Grüner Veltliner; Old World and New World

Click here for a list of past and future Wine Pairing Weekend events!

We hope you’ll join us for our exploration of Grüner Veltliner in the glass and at the table. Don’t forget to join our chat on Twitter at #WinePW starting at 11am EDT/8amPDT.

Pizza Details

• Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in 5 Minutes a Day – excellent cookbook full of easy to make pizza crust doughs (including gluten-free if you need), plus what seems like 100 great combination ideas. White sauce for your pizza? Recipe here. White sauce, pancetta, brussels sprouts and pecorino? Yep, got it.
• Pizza Stone – Key to success with your pizza whether you are cooking in your oven, or on a grill.  If you’re going to use it on the grill, make sure you get one thick enough and advertised as grill worthy. Thinner stones will crack under the direct heat. The voice of experience….
• Primo Grill – This is an investment for the cooking enthusiast. If you want to smoke a pork shoulder for 12 hours at 225°F one day, and cook pizza at 600°F the next day, this is a grill that can do it all.

Bacon, blue cheese and ripe pears, a perfect pizza for Grüner Veltliner