Michi Lorenz Sauvignon Blanc Klassik Review

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Sauvignon Blanc Klassik: What I think

Michi Lorenz isn’t just the winery’s name, he’s the winemaker, too. His family has been growing wine grapes in this area of Austria (Sausal, a small, hilly part of southern Styria in the Südsteiermark region) for more than 500 years — and in 1524 the winemaker paid his taxes with wine! The vineyard is biodynamically farmed and is Demeter certified. And as far as I can tell, there’s pretty much nowhere in the US to buy this wine, except from The California Wine Club and the wine’s importer Vero Vino.

Styria (known as Steiermark in Austria) is having a moment in the wine world. The region is becoming well-known among natural wine enthusiasts, a group known for coveting anything unusual in addition to wines that adhere to the loose principles of what it means to be natural wine.

One of the reasons Styria is getting popular is that importers, restaurants, and retailers all want to get the attention (and serve) those natural wine customers. According to natural wine importer Jenny Francois, “These growers are very serious about how they work their vines: the level of attention to detail, to nature, to winemaking — their precision and the way they push themselves to do better every year.”

I always enjoy trying wine from a new region, especially when it’s a grape I’m quite familiar with. The Austrian expression of Sauvignon Blanc is quite different from most others, especially its region of origin, the Loire Valley in France. Austrian wines are typically tart (acidic) and Steiermark plantings are roughly 55% Sauvignon Blanc.

This particular Sauvignon Blanc was not super complex, but it was bright and food-friendly — a stated goal for Michi Lorenz, who wishes to make wine “not to be loud, and to fascinate people at the same time.” This type of wine goes great with vegetable-based dishes, especially those with tart or vinaigrette elements, and shellfish where it’s a great foil to the inherent richness of crustaceans. If I’d had some nice goat cheese hanging around, it would have paired beautifully with that, too.