CheapWineFinder Podcast
Talking about remarkable wines that pair nicely with your wallet! Because we like to keep it cheap but excellent.
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Doris and Leopold's Gruner Veltliner: A $5.99 Summer Trader Joe's Revelation
Dive into the world of Austrian wines as we explore the hidden gem that is Doris and Leopold's Gruner Veltliner 2023. At just $5.99 from Trader Joe's, this white wine delivers a surprisingly complex experience that punches well above its price point.
This episode takes you on a journey through Austria's signature grape variety—Gruner Veltliner—which accounts for a third of all wine production in the country. We explore how this particular bottle, named after the proprietors of the historic Suter Winery, carries forward a winemaking tradition dating back to the 1600s. The vineyard's thousand-year history in Bavaria's limestone-rich soils contributes to the distinctive minerality that complements the wine's bright citrus profile.
What sets this wine apart isn't just its incredible value, but its versatility. With a perfect 12.5% alcohol content and a dry, refreshing character, it makes an ideal companion for summer gatherings, seafood dishes, and even spicy Thai cuisine. We break down the straightforward production methods that allow this quality wine to maintain such an accessible price point and explain why wines named after their makers often receive special attention during production. Whether you're new to Austrian wines or looking to expand your affordable summer wine collection, this episode provides expert insights into why Gruner Veltliner deserves a place in your rotation.
Listen now to discover why this $5.99 bottle might become your new favorite warm-weather sipper, and stay tuned for our upcoming review of an intriguing Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon. Subscribe to Cheap Wine Fighter for three new wine reviews each week that help you drink well without breaking the bank!
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Hey, domain Dave, cheapwinefightercom Come at you again with another podcast for a wine review that we wrote up on the CheapWineFightercom website, which we do three times a week. The music in the background kind of gives us a hint of what we got going here. This is a wine from Austria, actually Bavaria. It is a 599 Trader Joe's's wine and I'll explain all that in a minute. This is the doris and leopold gruner weltliner 2023. Gruner weltliner is kind of the white wine of austria. Like 75 of all the vines in the world are planted in Austria and like a third of what they produce in Austria is Gruner Veltliner. I got that from Wine Folly. If you're ever looking for some quick and easy wine information that they don't talk down to you, wine Folly is the one to look for. I'm going to take a sip of this wine. This is a Gruner. It's kind of like a or the Veltline I forget which one is which. It's kind of like a type of grape and here we go. It's a dry wine. You know, sometimes like Germany is right across the way there and a lot of people think their Rieslings are sweet, but this is a dry wine, but there's a real nice burst of fruit and citrus on the mid-ballot. It's like starts out slow and boom, there it goes, but it's still subtle. It's kind of nice. $5.99 to get that on a $5.99 wine was pretty awesome. $5.99 to get that on a $5.99 wine was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:Doris and Leopold are the proprietors of Suter Winery. They're in Austria. Their winery has been there for at least 1600. They have been growing grapes in that area of Bavaria for a thousand years and this wine isn't on their website. Leopold and Doris. Leopold have a website and it's all Souter wines and they have Gruners and they have all the rest of the stuff they do there. But this isn't on there and I think it's a Trader Joe's exclusive in another country. It might be another store brand somewhere else. But there is a Doris and there is a Leopold and they do make wine and they put their own names on it. And that's one of the things about wine. If a winery names a wine after a beloved grandmother or a daughter or a year themselves, they usually put some effort into the wine. There's no way they're going to make like a wine for grandma that doesn't taste very good. And doris and leopold well, they made their own, they put their own name on the one. They're not gonna, they're not gonna mess around and it does taste really nice.
Speaker 1:Let's say, if you haven't had a gruner Veltliner before, it's one of those wines every time I have one I don't have them often I go why don't I drink this more often? It's 12.5 in the alcohol. It's a really nice summer sipper. You could have seafood and maybe some Thai things with it, maybe some spice to it. Gruner Veltliners often are spicy. This one isn't very spicy, I'm not really getting that, but there is a bit of minerality on there. If you're ever looking for minerality in a wine, it's subtle. It's there because their vineyards are all in limestone and that does leach up into the water. That goes into the roots and into the grapes. I'm going to take another sip. Roots it into the grapes? I'm gonna take another sip.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 5.99 this summer supper. This is really really beautiful wine. You know, sometimes you get a five. Well, not anymore. 5.99 wines are usually pretty good, but I I'm kind of shocked. And gruner, if you're looking to try a gruner veltliner and you haven't had one before, this is a great place to start. Now you can go up and I don't think they're ever going to go too much higher than $30, unless you start getting the ones that have been in aged and oak and all that type of thing, which is a whole different type of wine. Yeah, but if you're looking for a summer favorite, $5.99 will get you going with Austrian wines and they are usually well-priced. If you like a dry, easy-to-drink summer sipper, then, like I said, it'll go with Thai. You could bring this to a bring-your-own-bottle restaurant. You know a Thai place? Bring it in. It's $6 on the bottle here. You're not killing it to have decent, good food. Yeah, so there you go.
Speaker 1:This is a Trader Joe's Doris and Leepo Grunewelt, lena 2023. It's made by people who know how to make it. They export wines all over the world. They have vineyards that have been there for a long time. They're well-established. I don't know what to tell you Other than somehow they make well. The reason they can make it for $5.99? Because this is like Sauvignon Blanc you pick the grapes, you use the yeast to ferment it, you decide what temperature you want to ferment it at, because all that kind of changes the flavors and when you're done, you do that all in stainless steel. When you're done, you put it in stainless steel for a little more time not too much more until it all bounces out. Then you bottle it, so there's not a lot here going.
Speaker 1:This is like one of those they talk about food being farmed and marketed. This is vineyards bottling a pretty much easy time and it works. It's something that works. You know, cabernet Sauvignon and those type of things take some time and effort to make. These beautiful little white wines are easy and they taste good. So there you go. This is it for me. Domain Dave cheapwinefindercom. This is the Doris and Leopold Runevelina 2023. In a couple of days, I've got a Cabernet Sauvignon that is very interesting. It's from Lodi, but it's a cool wine from a brand I didn't know that has incorporated some brands that I'm very familiar with and it's one of those wines you can buy by the label Adios. Keep it cheap, stay cool, because it's getting warmer out there and I'll be talking to you in a couple of days, adios.