Australian and New Zealand varietal wines made from Austria’s most common white winegrape, Grüner Veltliner, will be put under the spotlight for the first time by the Wine & Viticulture Journal for its next regular tasting.

Grüner Veltliner was produced in Australia for the first time in 2009 by Lark Hill in the Canberra District. Hahndorf Hill in the Adelaide Hills produced the nation’s second release of the varietal the following year and has since become a trailblazer for it in Australia, importing clones from Austria and making the material available to other growers in the region.

The growth in the production of Grüner Veltliner in Australia was reflected in the addition of its own class in the 2013 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show when six wineries were entered. In last year’s show the entries had climbed to 20.

Likewise the amount of the variety crushed in Australia grew to its highest level in 2021 with just shy of 500 tonnes processed, up from 120 tonnes in 2015.

The number of Australian wineries producing Gruner Veltliner now number in the tens and although producers from the Adelaide Hills make up the lion’s share, the interest in other regions is growing.

Grüner Veltliner has also gained a foothold in New Zealand with the country processing 275 tonnes of the variety in 2021, down from a high of 369 tonnes the previous year.

Australian and New Zealand producers wishing to enter wines in the Wine & Viticulture Journal’s Grüner Veltliner tasting can do so via the publication’s online entry form which can be found here.

Submissions close on Friday 4 March 2022.

The results of the tasting will be published in the Winter 2022 issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal.

To subscribe to the WVJ click here.