In 2007 Monika Caha & Toni Silver of Monika Caha Selections, Inc. partnered with Meinhard Forstreiter to create the brand GROONER, an easy drinking, refreshing Grüner Veltliner with the same quality and characteristics of his Forstreiter wines, but with an eye-catching label/packaging created by Silver/Caha, and phonetic spelling for those hard to pronounce pair of Austrian varietals.

The GROONER partners have now created a similarly easy-drinking red wine: ZVY-GELT, made from 100% Zweigelt. Both wines have performance artist Toni Silver on the label, as the “Grooner” and “Zvy-gelt” Girl. These wines are fun, but they are artisanal fine wines, like all Forstreiter wines: “Qualitätswein”(appellation controlled)/ Appellation: Niederösterreich.

Forstreiter was named “Top 100 Wineries of the Year” by Wine & Spirits Magazine. The Forstreiter family has been making wine here since 1868, but it is the current owner and winemaker, Meinhard Forstreiter, who has brought the winery to a new level of quality and reputation, utilizing the most advanced modern technology and implementing sound, sustainable methods. Weingut Forstreiter’s 69-acre vineyard is situated in Krems-Hollenburg in the Kremstal, Niederösterreich, Austria, along the banks of the Danube River, across from the Wachau.

There has been wine production in this area since the Roman Empire. Most of the Forstreiter wine grows close to the Danube on south or east facing terraces on “konglomerate”, with different layers of loess, clay and sandy soil. This “Hollenburger Konglomerat” was formed during the Ice Age from compressed gravel from the banks of the Danube. The unique soil formations and microclimate of this area produce exceptional fruity, spicy and peppery wines with lots of minerals.