Kiwi wineries try out Austrian white

Austrian wine variety, Gruner Veltliner now grown and made in Marlborough is proving to be a mouthful in more ways than one.

More commonly known as Veltliner, the Austrian wine is a versatile dry style white and hugely popular in America, says St Clair's winemaker Matt Thomson.

"Its key factors are citrus  mandarin and tangerine  but it's the white pepper on the palate  a true spice  that makes it quite unique."

While Mr Thomson would not say his Veltliner is made in the Austrian style, he has done a lot of research before attempting to make some himself.

"We tasted a whole lot of Austrian wine to find attributes we liked and wanted in our Veltliner."

Yealands Estate Wines owner Peter Yealands planted four hectares of Veltliner in 2008, and says there is huge potential for the wine.

"I believe it has a future here in Marlborough. It loves the climate, it's easy to manage, and has a reasonable yield," he said.

Mr Thomson agrees Veltliner is well matched to Marlborough's maritime climate, but its potential pitfalls can make it a tricky wine to make.

"The grapes have very dry thick skins, and low nutrient juice can lead to undesirable acidity," he said.

There are only small parcels of the Veltliner planted in Marlborough, and only a handful of wineries are making the wine at this stage  Jules Taylor, St Clair, Yealands and Forrest Estate.

Mr Thomson hopes progress will continue slowly.

"It's a fashionable variety, but we need to be careful about getting momentum [in the market] going, before there is a big rush to plant them," he cautions.