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Sauvignon Blanc has the advantage of being planted worldwide to varying effect. Its overarching light-to-medium body as well as its fresh, citrusy, and herbal character diminishes quickly when subjected to excess sun or heat. But thankfully from its native France to the Antipodes to South Africa, and well-chosen locations throughout the Americas, it performs quite admirably.
I recently chatted with three of the finest northern hemisphere vintners of this noble white grape variety—all of whom I’ve visited at their place of business: Pam Starr of Crocker & Starr in Napa Valley; Armin Tement doing double duty at Weingut Tement in Austria and Domaine Ciringa in Slovenia; and Jean-Laurent Vacheron of Sancerre’s Domaine Vacheron.
“It’s a very dynamic grape variety with a variety of components separating it from Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc that can provide everything from an herbaceous, even vegetal, wine all the way to lush tropical fruits,” said Starr.
The Regions of Sauvignon Blanc
“The University of Bordeaux ranks these aromas in three types of character,” added Vacheron. “From pyrazine we get green vegetables, rhubarb, and asparagus; thiol white fruits such as pear; and with terpenes Muscat-like effects which can bring the tropical notes…and then there are effects obtained from climate and geology.”
In Sancerre, a wine region in the Loire Valley of France, Vacheron characterized the 17 geologic soil types based upon three general characteristics—clay, flint, and limestone.
The flexibility of this cool climate grape is also underscored in it finding a home for two centuries in Tement’s cold and humid southeastern Styria, Austria, where vegetation is high and yields low.
“Our oldest vineyards were planted by my grandparents in the ‘50s, and with climate change, we see that Sauvignon Blanc from these and younger vines are absolutely the best success in our region,” said the Tement, a biodynamic farmer who also applies long skin contact. “With frost occurring its late bud burst, resistance to peronospora and mildew, and now that we’re harvesting one month earlier than 20 years ago, helps."
With Tement’s work straddling two nations with 30 mins. walk between them, it bore my asking what, if any, differences there are between them. “Before the First World War, it was one wine region, Untersteiermark, the biggest wine region of the Habsburg monarchy, and after the war they asked the residents if they’d prefer to be part of Yugoslavia or Austria,” says Tement. “Our largest vineyard area was in Slovenia, and in 2004, we got the chance to get it back.”
Given the timeliness of the generational shift aligning with its acquisition, Armin and his brother Stefan enjoy greater oversight of the Slovenian Ciringa operation and share more of the eponymous family operation with their parents. While Armin claimed that the Ciringa stands a bit rough and wild alongside his namesake wines’ purity and freshness, the 2019 Pruh Vineyard offering was not at all rustic but rather clear and vibrant.
In contrast, Starr has more room to experiment in Napa Valley. “We didn't have a historical foundation of where and how to plant,” she says, “so we can experiment without frustration of government dictation in a climate warmer than France’s Loire and New Zealand.”
Starr acknowledges that this warmer climate could bake out the beautiful classic aromas of Sauvignon grapes, so she plants “suitcase varieties” from France on cooler portions of varying soil types at her estate.
She goes on to say that compared to Chardonnay, consumers aren’t always sure what to expect from Sauvignon Blanc. “If you manhandle Sauvignon Blanc and apply all kinds of techniques, you will lose the beauty of the grape variety,” she says. “My intent is to provide a Sauvignon Blanc that gets better in the bottle for the first five years of its life.”
Serving Sauvignon Blanc
When asked about its suitability at the table, Vacheron commented, “A good glass as an aperitif with cheese, seafood, or veggies creates a sense affinity for spiciness.”
This was proven by my successfully pairing Vacheron’s 2023 entry bottling with raw yellowfin tuna dipped into a mélange of fish and soy sauces, grated jalapeño, and ginger.
Starr’s 2023 release had earlier seamlessly paired with a Parrano gouda while Tement’s Ried Zieregg XT 2015, a vital and current release, was poised and structured upon opening, lasting formidably a few days later.
Benjamin Gutenbrunner, General Manager/Wine Director of Manhattan’s Wallsé, always lists Tement. “We’ve also poured it by the glass to introduce people to the amazing Sauvignon Blanc they make,” he says. “[It’s] a very big success and resulting in customers returning to try single vineyard bottlings we list.”
Across the country, Danielle Kuzinich, proprietor of San Francisco Wine Society, considers Domaine Vacheron “a cornerstone of our Sancerre offerings.” She says the biodynamic wine always appears on their bottle list, and they sometimes serve it by the glass as well. It pairs well with small bites like smoked sturgeon pate. “Part of the charm of Domaine Vacheron lies in its family legacy…a generational dedication to crafting wines that express the purity and precision of Sancerre’s terroir.”
Since 1986, David Furer has served in the on- and off-premise trenches in his native U.S. and former adoptive homes of Great Britain and Germany; directed & hosted international wine business conferences in Europe, Asia, and online concerned with its future and climate change; and contributed to wines & spirits media outlets in the U.S. and Great Britain. He also provides marketing & communications expertise to organizations throughout the world from his New York home while somehow finding time to host the consumer-facing podcast Drinking on the Edge. You can reach him at rerufd@gmail.com.
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