I Love Organic Wine - A Biodynamic Austrian Gruener Veltliner Wine

Nikolaihof claims to be Europe's first biodynamic wine estate and the oldest wine estate in Austria. Gruener Veltliner is Austria's top grape both for quality and for the number of acres planted. This wine comes from mostly 40 to 50 year-old vines in Lower Austria, the largest and most important of Austria's four wine regions. The Wachau district of Lower Austria is northwest of Vienna and boasts its own wine classifications, unseen elsewhere. Today's wine's cousin with the best breeding (top of the line Wachau classification) costs well more than twice as much but got a 93 from the reviewer quoted below. We just had to make do with the plebian side of the family.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review have been purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Nikolaihof Hefabzug Gruener Veltliner, 2006 12.1% alcohol about $25.50

Description: The Wine Advocate's David Schildknecht called Nikolaihof's 2006 portfolio 'a triumph' (June 2008). This ripe and complex 'Grue-Vee' offers refreshing citrus, green bean and spicy sage character, with impressive clarity and vibrancy. Enjoy with lentil salads. And now for my review.

At its first tasting this wine offered a touch of sweetness and bright acidity that lingered. The first meal was a boxed eggplant parmigiana slathered with grated Parmesan cheese. The wine was feathery and elegant. I got light acidity and green beans.

The second meal consisted of whole-wheat pasta with homemade pesto and grated Parmesan cheese. The Gruener Veltliner was somewhat unctuous and definitely sweet with lots of lime. It was powerful and displayed both balance and elegance.

For my final meal I had homemade cheese less lasagna with whole-wheat noodles, peas, green olives, ground beef, and a lightly spicy salsa. The wine was lemony and oily with bright acidity and green apples in the background. When paired with the dessert of fresh watermelon the wine remained acidic and citrusy.

As usual I finished the tasting with two cheeses. But first I tried Matjes herring. The Gruener Veltliner was lightly acidic and very long. When it accompanied provolone cheese the wine was acidic, perhaps excessively acidic, and tasted of underripe green apples. The second cheese was an Emmenthal (Swiss); it rendered the wine round and well balanced. The green apples have almost ripened.

Final verdict. Yes the wine was generally fine. But it was somewhat disappointing for the price. Austrian wines tend to be pricey and one may imagine that biodynamic production increases the cost. If you are into biodynamic wine you should definitely consider this one. And try it with its classic food pairing; Wiener Schnitzel.