Lime peel, white pepper, tart green apple. Pink grapefruit, arugula, underripe apricot. Fresh squeezed lemon, loquat, and sour kiwi combine to form a lip-smacking and puckeringly tart fruit core complicated by spicy notes of turmeric and shaved ginger. Sour grass and banana leaf emerge to impart clean and subtle greenness while pleasant impressions of flint and shiny stainless steel contribute a lightly mineral twang. A distinct edge of earthy salinity - reminiscent of frothy salt water rushing over wet sticky stand - is revealed behind the zingy and zesty fruit as it gracefully brings complexity to the energetic and exciting attack. While initially a bit quiet on the nose the palate is anything but, as each sip brings a rush of intensely snappy delight. Medium in body with piercingly high yet wholly balanced acidity. This 2017 Fiddlestix Vineyard Grüner Veltliner by Luna Hart Wines is a bright, tangy, and delicious white from the Santa Rita Hills.

Found widely throughout Austria and surrounding parts of central Europe, Grüner Veltliner is a unique white wine grape that is growing in popularity and influence all across the world. This bottling, crafted by Luna Hart Wines using Grüner Veltliner sourced from the Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, wonderfully showcases the strengths of this burgeoning variety. Although rather subdued aromatically this wine is absolutely bursting with a smorgasbord crisp and crunchy fruit. Tartness and acidity are both very pronounced, and there is a distinct spicy character that provides interesting complexity and dimension. This is a intriguing, fun, and refreshing wine sure to enchant anyone fortunate enough to try it.