If you haven’t discovered grüner veltliner, Austria’s most famous wine, please pick up a bottle of it the next time you visit a wine shop. You may ignite a lifelong love affair.

Here are my five reasons to love grüner.

1. Grüner veltliner represents value at all price levels

You can find delicious, quaffable grüner in liter bottles for less than $15, or thrilling, complex grüner for $50 or more for a standard 750-ml bottle. Even those bottles on the higher end of the spectrum can rival much more expensive white burgundies in their depth and thrill factor.

For me, grüner’s signature is white flowers, such as jasmine and honeysuckle. Toss in rose hips, even talc for complexity. These flavors are followed by a spiciness from white pepper and a stony minerality that seems to give voice to the Earth itself. Texture ranges from supple, crystalline spring water to a zesty creaminess.

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I’m not alone in my love for the grape. Karen MacNeil, author of “The Wine Bible,” says grüner veltliner “definitely deserves to get more attention from consumers than it does. With its creamy texture, vivid fruit flavors, splashes of minerals, echoes of lime zest, and above all, its subtle white pepperiness, great grüner veltliner is a showstopper.”

2. Grüner ages well

Those liter bottles and simple grüners may be best within two years of the vintage, but higher examples, especially the single-vineyard bottlings (notable for the word Ried before the vineyard name), will reward your patience. About four or five years after the vintage, these wines begin to reveal their true expression, taking on extra depth and complexity. If you have a wine cellar, keep some top grüners back for a few years. Look for older vintages in restaurants. Don’t talk yourself out of them with the mistaken idea that white wine must be consumed young.

3. Grüner is a chameleon

If you’re ever caught in one of those awkward social situations where a wine geek traps you in a blind tasting, beware the grüner. Its flavors can be subtle, and it reveals itself more by what it isn’t: It’s not as weighty as chardonnay, nor as grassy as sauvignon blanc. Riesling and albariño emphasize tree fruit flavors. Focus on grüner’s signature white flowers and white pepper to guide you.

4. Grüner is amazingly versatile with food

Salads, asparagus and artichokes are considered wine killers, but grüner can stand up to them if the dressing isn’t too vinegary and the veggies aren’t overcooked. Grüner also pairs well with the complex spices of Middle Eastern or South Asian cuisines. If you’re an adventurous cook and are wondering what wine will go with your dinner, consider grüner veltliner.

5. Grüner isn’t just Austrian anymore

Historically, grüner veltliner has been associated with Austria and neighboring regions that used to be part of the Austrian empire. It isn’t ubiquitous around the world like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, but it has made some impressive appearances. Several small California wineries make it, with my favorites being Fiddlehead, Carlisle, Field Recordings and Zocker. It’s in Oregon (Ribbon Ridge), New York (Dr. Konstantin Frank, Weis), Virginia (Blenheim), Maryland (Black Ankle, Loew) and Pennsylvania (Galen Glen). If you travel, look for grüner from Australia’s Adelaide Hills (Hahndorf Hill) and Canada’s Okanagan Valley (Culmina).

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Here are some of my favorite Austrian producers of grüner veltliner, in alphabetical order, with some specific recommendations below: Alzinger, Anton Bauer, Bründlmayer, Domäne Wachau, Groiss, Hirsch, Knoll, Lenz Moser, Loimer, Markus Huber, Nigl, Nikolaihof, Paul D., Prager, Schloss Gobelsburg, Steininger, Tegernseerhof.

And here are five grüner recommendations to get you started.

GREAT VALUE

Paul D. Grüner Veltliner 2023

Austria, $14 for 1 liter

Winemaker Paul Direder produces one of the best wine values available today in this liter format. This is grüner at its youthful best: refreshing and racy, seemingly revealing a new flavor with each sip. It should settle down with a few more months of bottle age, but why wait? Make this your house white for the summer. Certified vegan, sustainable. Alcohol by volume: 12 percent. Bottle weight: 425 grams (Light).

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Imported by Select Wines. Distributed locally by Select Wines and Siema Wines.

GREAT VALUE

Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen 2022

Wachau, Austria, $19

Exuberant and on the fruity side for grüner, with apricot and peach blossom, accented with zesty citrus and peppery spice. Certified vegan, sustainable. ABV: 12.5 percent. BW: 430 grams (Light).

Imported by Gonzalez Byass USA. Distributed locally by Southern Glazer’s.

Galen Glen Grüner Veltliner 2022

Lehigh Valley, Pa., $20

Galen Glen has become the standard-bearer for grüner veltliner on the U.S. East Coast. Okay, that may be a small sample size, but this wine is consistently delicious vintage after vintage. Its fruit leans to Bosc pear and Granny Smith apple with their blossoms, with a creamy consistency mid-palate and a peppery finish. As they say online, IYKYK. ABV: 12 percent. BW: 445 grams (Light).

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Distributed locally by Siema Wines.

Weingut Müller Grossmann Grüner Veltliner Satz Viertel 2022

Kremstal, Austria, $20

Crisp apple, Asian pear and jasmine headline the first impression on this wine, backed up by white pepper on the finish. Certified sustainable. ABV: 12 percent. BW: 420 grams (Light).

Imported and distributed locally by Siema Wines.

Groiss Grüner Veltliner Braitenpuechtorff 2022

Weinviertel, Austria, $35

Ingrid Groiss’s wines showcase mineral intensity, as though they ground you to the Earth. She also offers a Weinviertel appellation wine ($22) and a reserve single-vineyard called Ried Pankraz ($65). Both are outstanding. ABV: 12.5 percent. BW: 425 grams (Light).

Imported by Vineyard Brands. Distributed locally by Elite Wines.

Prices are approximate. For availability, check Wine.com, Wine-searcher.com and the websites and social media feeds of the wineries, importers, distributors, and your favorite local wine store. You can also ask your local retailer to order wines from the distributors listed. Bottle weight is included, because this is the single most important contributor to wine’s carbon footprint. Have wine questions for Dave McIntyre? Send them to Food@washpost.com.

Legend

★ Good: The wine delivers what it promises at a fair price. If it says chardonnay, it tastes like chardonnay.

★★ Excellent: A wine with character and added interest. May elevate your eyebrows at the first sip.

★★★ Extraordinary: An exciting wine that stands out from others in its class. Fist-pumping, table-thumping good.

★★★★ Sublime: Otherworldly. May have you thinking, “So this is what they were talking about.”

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