Interesting article today in 750Daily by ValerieKathawala:
750Daily: Styrian Wines
on the growing presence of Austrian wines from Steiermark/Styria in the US market. Only 11% of the regions wines are exported and of that, only 16% comes to the USofA.
The signature grape of the region is SauvBlanc. Generally, I'm not a big fan of SB, but those from Styria I some of my favorites. I prefer them to those from Loire or Bdx. They are a bit more mild-mannered & not as herbaceous/angular. The Bedrock SB's (my favorite from Calif) remind me a lot of Styrian SB.
There's a growing movement in Styria for natural wines. In general, the few I've had are perfectly well-made & don't suffer from the natty character that plague so many of those natural wines.
There are also a few other varieties produced in Styria, but they are frightfully scarce. In particular, they grow a variety called Blauer Wildbacher, mostly in WestSteiermark. It originates from a Gouais Blank seedling & related to Blaufrankisch. It is most commonly made as Schilcher rose wine. Generally released about a month after harvest. It's a unique style of rose. I'm surprised that some of the hip winemakers in Calif who embrace Pet-Nat wines have not embraced a Schilcher style of rose. I kinda like the wine but it's not to everyone's taste. It goes particularly on the Austrian rye bread spread with grammeln (a type of pork lard) sprinkled w/ salt. Also known as Griebenschmalz. It sounds gross, but it's actually pretty tasty.
Tom