There are, of course, many a grape variety I consider favourites. There’s Riesling, for its charismatic complexity, penchant for expressing a region’s minerality and soils, and all-out lip-smacking deliciousness. Pinot Noir is probably one of the more common ‘favourite’ varieties; its elegance, character and legend hits people in different ways. Though it can often make ‘bigger’ wines, Syrah has also had a soft spot in my heart. Those baking spices like clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and so on, along with brambly berry fruit and perhaps a few flowers blooming amongst a dusting of pepper hits me well.
But then there’s Grüner Veltliner, which can be forgiven for not appearing on everybody’s radar. Those who know the grape associate it with its Austrian homeland, and it’s admired for its cheery disposition.
Often chock-full of lemon, lime and grapefruit, it’s akin to a riesling with perhaps a more linear character. Fresh and clean, the grape can also be just as expressive of its terroir as Riesling, but usually strays away from the honeyed stone fruit notes that Riesling adopts when harvested and fermented a little off-dry. It’s usually citrus and rocks through the home stretch, refreshing and lively as lemonade on a hot summer’s day; bright with acidity and begging for seafood like halibut or a shellfish ceviche.
Here in BC, we’ve had much success with grape varieties that share some of Grüner Veltliner’s traits; Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Gewürztraminer all thrive in our cool-climate, mineral-laden soils. Because of this, I’ve always found it puzzling that we’ve played around with so many global varieties, from Arneis to Zinfandel, yet Grüner’s hardly made a peep.
There’s a tiny smattering on Vancouver Island, and Inniskillin had once flirted with the idea of crafting some in the Okanagan. In the big picture though, it hasn’t made any noise.
Because of my devotion to the grape, I was pretty stoked to hear that Don Triggs’ Culmina winery in Oliver (yep, the Don Triggs who created, built, and eventually sold the Jackson-Triggs brand) was planting some Grüner that his winemaker, Pascal Madevon formerly of Osoyoos LaRose, was gonna have a go at.
Well, my wish has come true, and we now have the Okanagan Valley’s first Grüner Veltliner, dubbed Unicus by Culmina Family Estate Winery coming from the 2013 vintage. Happily, it exhibits all of the things I love about the grape. Loaded with fresh lime, fresh sorrel, Granny Smith apple and a good handful of minerals, it’ll hit our West Coast seafood well. For my soft spot for the variety, and hopes of it flourishing in our region, it could have easily been a disappointing. Fortunately, I’m not only elated by the Valley’s first outing, but encouraged about its potential and highly recommending it.
There’s one catch. Being such a new venture, and a gamble at that, Culmina made a very, very small amount of it, so it’s only available at the winery. There’s a way around that, though. If you head to Culmina.ca and become a member of their wine club, which is really just adding yourself to their mailing list, you’re given the opportunity to order the wine online. For a $27 per bottle purchase, you can be part of this variety’s maiden voyage in the Okanagan. For all we know, it could be the Next Big Thing, and you can brag that you’ve been with it since the very beginning.
