Johann Topf, Green, 2010

Among the trusted recommendations you will get when asking for a wine to go with Wiener Schnitzel (breaded veal escalope) and potato salad is Grüner Veltliner, Austria's signature white wine. A little while ago I was browsing the wine selection in one of Munich's more upmarket department stores, looking for a wine to bring to a Schnitzel dinner, when something green got my attention.

Green, with a clean and minimalistic design, the Grüner Veltliner "Green" seemed to promise exactly what I was looking for - a clean, minimalistic but very fresh wine.

What I did not know when buying the wine was that it actually comes from a family-owned winery that has been in business for several generations. "Green" is their entry level wine, specifically designed to attract new consumers.

What we found in our glasses was a wine with a very fresh bouquet, lots of green apple and "sharp" herbs, bordering on menthol, with some yellow fruit, white pepper and orange and lemon peel. The Grüner is as fresh and sharp on the tongue as it smells - very clear, with nice citrus and apple flavours, and racy acidity, especially in a crisp finish with a mineral end. Light and refreshing, the wine is not overly deep or complex and for my taste perhaps a little too much dominated by its acidity (later I learned it has 6.8g acidity against 1.3 g/l residual sugar). Drunk cold and with the Schnitzel it made for an enjoyable food companion though.