2022 Weingut Prager Gruner Veltliner Federspiel Ried Hinter Der Burg Wachau Austria 750 ml

The French Laundry. Eleven Madison Park. Saison. NoMAD. The Modern.

You’ll find Prager on the wine lists of the world’s very best restaurants. We've sworn by them for years, ranking Prager’s wines among the world's most versatile go-to whites. This 2022 Gruner has the nobility and class of top-tier white Burgundy—it’s an ageworthy wine we stock up on every year.

Prager is one of the stars of the Wachau, Austria’s most famous region for powerful yet immaculately precise white wines. Their motto, “Vom Stein zum Wein” or “from rock to wine,” is a literal statement of intent—one translated brilliantly in this Hinter Der Burg (which means “behind the old castle”) cuvée. Winemaker Toni Bodenstein is widely considered one of the foremost authorities on the area’s geology and microclimates.

Speaking with Toni, you get the sense that he’s a bit obsessed with his vineyard’s biodiversity and sedimentary soils composed of gneiss, granite, and schist from the Danube River. When you taste his wines, you’ll understand how his singular obsession is the driving force behind their greatness.

“Federspiel” is the middle classification for Wachau wines—and it might just be the Goldilocks level of ripeness for the region’s Grüner Veltliner. With less body and alcohol than more expensive Smaragd bottles, the Hinter der Berg Grüner is bright and refreshing enough to drink on its own but absolutely shines at the dinner table. It brings out the best in ingredients that can be hard to find a match for—parsnips, artichokes, Japanese sweet potatoes, you name it—but it’s also perfect to pop while roasting a weeknight chicken or grilling some fish.