In lower Austria, wine comes from rocks. Vineyards all along the Danube are planted in thin layers of topsoil stretched across a complex strata of granite, schist, gneiss and basalt. Thus, the roots of any given Austrian vine are probably in direct contact with stone somewhere underground. In the eyes of sommelier Jesse Becker, winemakers Christian Ress and Markus Huber, that constant minerality animates Austrian wines, and has inspired this collaboration from a stoney vineyard in the Treisenthal district, where the rolling hills begin to look a bit more like alpine foothills. True to the name, this Gruner Veltliner begins and ends with a granite streak. Aromas of alpine lavender, yellow apple, quince and chamomile come through too, and on the palate apples and lemons and lime leaves weave around that stony core of live-wire acidity. The name Rockwerk translates as stone art, named in honor of Austria’s hard working geology. Like most good Gruner Veltliner, this pairs well with a wide range of foods, from simple creamy pastas to complexly spiced dals and baked chickens.