The Wine... I find the cheap packaging refreshing. I also find the wine refreshing, particularly so after a quick calculation of the per-serving unit cost. Good corks are pricey- this basic closure is not. Ecker is bright and clean, a wine that smells of fresh spring grasses and flowers and has an undercurrent of citrus acidity. Try one: very little to lose, plenty of good times and good dining to be gained.

The Estate... Eckhof is a 20-hectare estate in Kirchberg-Mitterstockstall, near Krems. They bottle a little over 6,000 case of wine annually, roughly half of which is Gruner Veltliner. The Ecker family have made wine at this estate for over 300 years.

The Land... To the northwest of Vienna are some of the deepest loess deposits in Europe. And since loess is the perfect soil type for Gruner Veltliner, exceptionally porous and sandy, it is no surprise that we keep finding these exceptional examples of Austria's most-planted white grape from this region.This is Wagram, a region just far enough away from Austria'a prime vine real estate to still yield occasional values in this heyday of Gruner Veltliner popularity. I don't think it's all magazine/smantzy restaurant/highbrow popularity either: for a few years now in our vicinity former Chardonnay guzzlers have been emigrating to Austria. Or at least paying a visit during warmer summer months when thirst-quenching whites like this one seem to go with everything.