Liter-sized bottles of Grüner Veltliner are an Austrian trademark, and many of them—this one included—are much more than simple picnic wines.

Grüner Veltliner is the signature variety of Austria’s Kremstal, whose terraced vineyards along the Danube showcase the variety in all its mineral-rich glory. Kremstal is the ‘middle child’ of Austria’s Big Three wine appellations along the Danube, flanked by the cooler Wachau to the west and the marginally warmer Kamptal to the east. In Kremstal, producers prefer vineyard sites on loess (silt) for their Grüner Veltliner.

Sourcing fruit from a wide assortment of vineyard parcels (including Vordernberg and Moosburgerin) the Bründlmayers vinify this white in the classic style of the region: It is exceedingly fresh and aged in stainless steel, with a hint of trapped CO2 which dissipates quickly once the wine is open. Bottled under screwcap in a 1L format.

You can spell it Bründlmayer (with the ü), or Bruendlmayer (as referenced in the label design), but either way, the protagonists here are Josef (father) and Philipp (son), whose wines are sourced from three of the most prized single vineyards in the Kremstal DAC: the steep, limestone-flecked Ried Steingraben; the gravelly, loess-rich Ried Vordernberg; and another loess-dominated site, Ried Moosburgerin. Now mostly under Philipp’s stewardship, the estate is pursuing organic certification for its farming.

In the glass, it’s a pale yellow-gold with silvery/green reflections, with heady aromas of green apple, white peach, grapefruit, lime blossom, green herbs, white pepper, radish, and a hint of flinty smoke. It is medium-bodied, with racy acidity and an almost saline minerality, finishing on with a bright, mouth-watering flourish. The pairing possibilities are nearly endless, although it would make a superb “first course” wine with salads incorporating bitter greens like arugula or escarole.