Sauvignon Blanc Southern Styria from the Wohlmuth Winery
The 2024 Wohlmuth Sauvignon Blanc Southern Styria is a wonderfully dry white wine from Styria, Austria. The Sauvignon Blanc from the Wohlmuth winery is an elegant representative of its grape variety, somewhat restrained on the nose; on the palate, however, it reveals its spectrum of aromas, featuring ripe yellow fruits such as apricots and yellow plums, as well as red fruits like red currants. A vegetal touch joins in—sweet red bell pepper—all underscored by a fine slate minerality, a wonderfully cool crispness, finesse, and precision. This classic wine demonstrates the brilliant interplay between grape variety, soil, vineyard location, and the winemaker's craft, which has a 200-year tradition at the Wohlmuth estate.
Wohlmuth – Winemaking
The Sauvignon Blanc vines are planted on absolutely steep vineyard slopes with phyllitic slate soils, ranging in color from reddish to black. This slate is thin-layered and partly more compact, with inclusions of quartz, sericite, and potassium feldspar. Influenced by the Illyrian climate—which brings warm winds from the Mediterranean and cool winds from the Alps to Kitzeck in Southern Styria—and through extensive manual labor on the steep slopes, which requires admirable dedication to the land, this dry white wine is crafted with an unmistakable, complex fruit profile.
All grapes are selectively hand-harvested. Since the vineyards are located around the winery, long transport routes are unnecessary. Following a 6–14 hour maceration period, the wine undergoes a slow, temperature-controlled fermentation at approximately 20°C (68°F). To preserve its fragrance and freshness, it is matured on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks until bottling at the end of February.
Even though the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety does not have a long tradition in Styria, it has found a place there that offers optimal conditions, producing wines of international caliber. The grape variety originated as a cross between Traminer and Chenin Blanc and comes originally from the Loire Valley. It is characterized by small, dense clusters. Its vigorous growth requires careful canopy management, as its aromatic compounds—methoxypyrazines and mercaptans—are light-sensitive. Its characteristic bouquet ranges from grassy, green-fruit, and bell pepper notes in less ripe grapes to an expressive diversity of aromas including elderflower, gooseberry, cassis, and tropical fruits like passion fruit in fully ripe grapes. In Styria, magnificent top-tier wines with great aging potential are produced, ranking among the best in the world.
The Sauvignon Blanc Southern Styria is a classic regional wine from the Southern Styria area and a versatile food companion for fish, seafood, and spring vegetables such as asparagus.
Sauvignon Blanc Southern Styria – A wine and its values
- Origin: Wine from Austria
- Growing region: Southern Styria
- Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc
- vegan
- 12.5% vol. alcohol
- 6.5 g/l acidity
- 2.2 g/l residual sugar