GruV Olympics

In following of the Olympics, we were invited by the Brand Action Team to participate in an Olympics of four Gruner Veltliners from Austria.  Points were given for 10 different catagories and medals were awarded at the end.

In the starting gate, in Lane 1 was the 2008 Austrian Pepper produced by Weingut Pfaffl.  In Lane 2 was the 2008 Lois produced by Fred Loimer.  In Lane 3 was the 2008 GV Vienna Hills produced by Weingut Wieninger.  And in the outside lane was the 2007 GV by Weingut Stadt Krems.

At the gun, Lois came out of the gate strong with a bright color and a well balanced sweetness and acidity but a slight bitterness.  It had nice fruity flavors that were moderatly long.  The Austrian Pepper quickly passed Lois in the first turn with a complex and peppery aroma followed by a silky body with a great balance in acidity and multi-layered flavors of fruits and pepper that continued well after the race.  The Vienna Hills was third out of the gate and put up a nice run.  It had a slightly larger aroma of fruits and pepper than Lois, but less than The Pepper.  This contestant had a slight tartness in the aroma that the other two did not have.  The flavors were robust and fruity but they did not last that long.  Overall, a solid competitor.  And finally, the Stadt Krems.  This competitor was slow out of the gate with a mild aroma, a fairly well balanced sweetness but a slightly tart acidity.  It's body was thin and lacking compared to the other three with a green underripe flavor that quickly faded.  This was no match for the other three.

At the finish line, the Austrian Pepper held on to a slight lead to edge out Vienna Hills, followed by Lois in 3rd and Stadt Krems in a distant 4th.  The Austrian Pepper received the gold medal while Vienna Hills and Lois each received ribbons.