The Wild Chameleon Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
“I remember I was at the Merano Wine Festival in 2016 and it just so happens that I was coming across a lot of sauvignon blancs to taste, and each one was intriguingly different.” These are first thoughts that come to mind when Vero founder, Sheila Donohue reflects on sauvignon blanc and its wines.
Michi Lorenz holding up a sauvignon blanc cluster he just harvested in South Styrnia, also known as the Green Tuscany.
For many, the first taste profile that comes to mind are grassy and green sauvignon blancs that New Zealand has made noteworthy. Yet, that contrasts with Sancerre sauvignon blancs which are known for their ‘cat pee’ aromas… You’re getting the picture, like if you were to compare sauvignon blanc vs pinot grigio. Pinot grigio is a straight shooter when it comes to taste - it’s quite predictable. While sauvignon blanc taste could really surprise you because it can vary so much.
It was not even a year ago when we introduced our first sauvignon blanc to the VeroVino portfolio, with women-owned Vigna Petrussa’s in Friuli Northern Italy. Captured by the seemingly totally different characteristics of sauvignon blanc, we decided to introduce more sauvignon blancs from other parts of Europe, and sauvignon blancs made different ways too, so to be able to discover the different facets of this fascinating grape and the wines it creates. Learn more about this grape in this article where we talked with Vero wine producers about their take on this grape and the wines it makes.
Michi Lorenz after just harvesting sauvignon blanc in his South Styria vineyards.
Sauvignon Blanc, the Grape
The sauvignon blanc grape itself is fundamental to wine heritage as we know it today, being the parent of cabernet sauvignon, as well as on its own being “solely responsible for some of the world’s most distinctively aromatic dry white wines.” according to Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine. Originating in Bordeaux, the name of sauvignon blanc comes from sauvage which means wild in French, which, according to Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible is due to it being a very vigorous vine, growing like a wild plant.
We got first hand perspectives talking with some Vero producers who are out in the vineyards cultivating sauvignon blanc and making it into wine. Here’s what they had to say about the grape:
What Michi Lorenz has to say about the grape
Michi Lorenz, the newest of the Vero producers whose natural wines we just imported first time to the US, is in the Südsteiermark, or South Steiermark, a subzone of the Styria wine region, known for some of the best sauvignon blanc wines in the world. Steiermark is German for Styria so the area is also known as South Styria. Asked why Südsteiermark is known for noteworthy sauvignon blancs, Michi says it’s because of the climate: being closer to the sea, compared to nothern subzones, his vineyards have more diurnal variation, so larger temperature ranges between cold and warm temperatures, which help the grape mature, keeping its acidity but also having the fruit and sugars develop mature to create a balanced wine. He said that they also get more rain; in fact Südsteiermark is known as the ‘Green Tuscany’ for its beautiful green hilly landscapes. Michi Lorenz’ property also has a higher altitude then most wineries in this area, over 2000 feet above sea level.
Because sauvignon blanc vine grows a lot, it does involve more work in the vineyard to work the leaves.
When to harvest each vineyard is a critical decision since when you pick can result in very different wines, with different aromas and flavors. Even year by year, the grapes can produce different wines. For example, with his Sauvignon Blanc Klassik he prefers a “green and fruity” style, so he harvests those grapes sooner compared to his other sauvignon blancs. On the opposite side of the spectrum is his Halo Sauvignon Blanc Orange Wine where he does a late harvest “playing poker,” as he calls it, since waiting to harvest is a win/lose game. Then, his Schist Happens Sauvignon Blanc has a mix of early, mid, and late harvest grapes, even combining different vintages together to create a unique profile of a sauvignon blanc wine.
What Hilde Petrussa of Vigna Petrussa has to say about the grape
Hilde Petrussa harvesting sauvignon blanc in her vineyard in Friuli this week.
Sauvignon blanc is a “newcomer” to the Friuli wine region, after some sauvignon blanc wines from this northern easternmost region of Italy received noteworthy international prizes about 25 years ago. Vigna Petrussa is based, in central-east Friuli, near the Slovenian border, where, like Michi Lorenz’ estate, there also is a diurnal influence with large temperature elevations which is great for white wine grapes, like sauvignon blanc. Hilde Petrussa planted her first sauvignon blanc vineyard in 1995. She says, the grape is delicate, with a thin skin, so the abundant growth of the plant is like a natural protection for the grape, since the leaves are needed to protect the fragile grapes. Plus with leaf coverage, it helps to allow the aromatic molecules to properly develop in the grape. Note that Hilde calls the wine ‘sauvignon’ without blanc which is a common abbreviation for sauvignon blanc.
Sauvignon Blanc, the Wine
Jancis Robinson in her The Oxford Companion to Wine mentions with sauvignon blanc wine what’s ‘‘most recognizable is its piercing aroma.” Karen MacNeil in the Wine Bible seconds that with a more colorful commentary in line with the sauvage or wild theme, writing “Riotous can…describe sauvignon’s flavors. These are not nicely tamed tastes.”
Let’s see what Michi and Hilde have to think about the wine:
What Michi Lorenz has to say about the wine
Michi Lorenz smelling the aromas of his just crushed sauvignon blanc grapes.
“You can make an extreme fruity or extreme spicy sauvignon blanc. A lot depends on how you work with the terroir,” says Michi Lorenz. Crafting the wine starts with the vineyards. “Sauvignon blanc styles can have extreme ranges from green pepper to cassis and elderberry, most of which is determined by when you decide to harvest,” Michi explains.
What Hilde Petrussa of Vigna Petrussa has to say about the wine
Sauvignon blanc is the first of all her grapes she harvests - in fact, she just kicked off her harvest season with sauvignon blanc this past week, on August 30th. Hilde, like Michi, also cites the large variations year by year, showing how sensitive the grape is to climate differences. She chooses to harvest when the fruit is more mature, favoring aromas and a creamy mouthfeel over a more acidic, vertical style. She prefers her sauvignon blanc wine to be less grassy and more floral, even though herbal notes, like tomato leaves, are still ever-present in her sauvignon wine.
Sauvignon Blanc Food Pairing
Reading these descriptions of sauvignon blanc flavors must be whetting your appetite! So, naturally, we asked both Michi and Hilde which food pairings they recommend with sauvignon blanc.
Is sauvignon blanc dry? Yes, it is. Yet, Hilde admits that pairing sauvignon blanc wine with food is not so easy. The food dish needs to have some structure, like, for example, a risotto: it should have a flavorful vegetable, like pepper, tomato or aspargus so the risotto dish flavors stand up to the flavor intensity of the sauvignon blanc wine. She also recommends pairing egg dishes with sauvignon blanc (hey - that’s a great idea for a brunch wine!)
Michi, having a range of different types of sauvignon blanc wine styles, recommends different dishes for his different sauvignon blancs, with the exception of seafood which pairs with all 3 of his Sauvignon Blancs that we carry. With his Sauvignon Blanc Klassik, he suggests pairing it with cold appetizer dishes. For his Schist Happens Sauvignon Blanc he suggests white meat dishes while for his Halo Sauvignon Blanc Orange Wine he recommends duck meat dishes.
Sauvignon Blancs from Italy, Austria & the Czech Republic
In addition to Michi Lorenz and Vigna Petrussa’s sauvignon blanc wines, we also have a sauvignon blanc from the Czech Republic: we just imported in natural wines from Thaya estate winery in south Moravia, the Czech Republic. Like Michi Lorenz, they are also just debuting in the US market. Thaya’s sauvignon blanc wine is really intriguing. For example, it has aromas of walking into a coffee roaster shop, which thanks to its oak aging, it gives it another aroma and flavor dimension. Its taste ranges from poblano chili peppers to grapefruit pith! And, like Michi Lorenz’s wines, Thaya’s sauvignon blanc is fermented with native yeast, giving it an expressive touch, as natural wines do.
And, really, all 3 of these estates are not far from one another, yet being in different countries. If you start from Vigna Petrussa’s estate in north eastern Italy in Friuli, right next to the Slovenian border, you cross Slovenia diagonally in a north east direct to get to Michi Lorenz’ estate in South Styria also right next to the Slovenia border. Then head north 3 hours from Michi Lorenz, traveling through Austria north, you get to Thaya estate winery right after crossing the border to the Czech Republic. No wonder they all make great sauvignon blanc wines, having common climate characteristics: from being more north, so cooler, with more rain, and wider temperature ranges.
If you’re like us, you like to explore the best sauv blanc wine and to compare and contrast. Buy this Sauvignon Blanc Explorer Set of 3 different types from 3 different producers in 3 different countries. Add on with no additional shipping cost Mich Lorenz Schist Happens and Michi Lorenz Halo Orange Wine to try all 5.
If you work in the industry, contact us to get pricing and arrange a tasting of these fabulous sauvignon blancs.
