Hiller Simone Grüner Veltliner I Queen & Pulka Valley 2024

Ode to joy! This is one of our favorite whites, PERIOD, and possibly our favorite wine ever from Austria. Fresh-air pristine honeysuckle and tangerine and fresh sage… ooo!... it’s a crisp Grüner Veltliner from the motherland of this racy, happy grape. Those granite-laden hills produce some of the best values in the whole wine world, and we direct-imported this beauty for you.

We know you’re ready for a refrigerator shelf of glacial, lemony, floral, oyster shell goodness! Pink grapefruit and cut grass and papaya join the symphony and rush over a stony riverbed.

“Light yellow green colour, silver reflections. Fine herbal notes, delicate passion fruit, a hint of lemon balm, apple nuances. Juicy, firm, fine structure, light-footed, delicate dark minerality, balanced, uncomplicated drinking pleasure.”
–90 points, Falstaff 

Married winemaking team Simone and Hannes Hiller-Jordan grew the fruit on what is known as the “Bohemian Massif,” an ancient granite and gneiss rock formation in northern Austria’s Weinviertel area. The poor (if you were trying to grow vegetables) well-drained soils force vines to dig deep, leading to smaller harvests and a more pronounced minerality. This particular spot in the Pulkau region is where two climates collide, resulting in warm days and cold nights. Accordingly, this 2024 has a plush, round texture that’s absolutely coursing with hyper-fresh acidity. 

This “Queen” bottling is a favorite in the restaurants around the Basilica Mondsee – the famous wedding chapel from The Sound of Music – so plan a movie night. Pour this with any white fish, certainly. It would also be heavenly with burrata on sourdough with a bowl each of fresh peaches and asparagus on the coffee table. Joy in a bottle – get plenty!