The wine world produces oceans of Sauvignon Blanc. The grape is grown just about everywhere, from North and South America to Europe and South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. When in doubt, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc will usually be a reliable and affordable choice for food pairings that call for white wine.
I’ve written extensively about the variety, including wines from Bordeaux, Italy’s Alto Adige, and New York’s Long Island. And every year, VinePair publishes a list of the “30 Best Sauvignon Blancs” from around the world.
Not long ago, we even asked 17 wine pros, “What’s the Most Underrated Sauvignon Blanc?” When a couple of them came back with wines from Austria and neighboring Slovenia, we knew it was time for a closer look.
While Grüner Veltliner is the undisputed white-wine star of Austria, Sauvignon Blanc is a strong and underappreciated supporting actor, with the wines displaying a range of styles that will appeal to many palates — from racy, grassy examples that call to mind New Zealand or Chile and wines with more tropical fruit notes that evoke Sauvignons from California, to the mineral-driven expressions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in France’s Loire Valley.
Austria’s top region for Sauvignon Blanc is Styria, also known as Steiermark, where Sauvignon is the most planted grape. And within Styria the most prominent subregion is South Styria or Südsteiermark, which borders Slovenia. One of the producers below, Tement, produces exceptional wines on both sides of the border.
Karen MacNeil, in her “Wine Bible,” calls Styria “arguably one of the world’s top spots for Sauvignon Blanc, as well as Austria’s most beautiful wine region.” I agree with her overall description of the Sauvignons as “racy, herbal, lemony wines, with a wild outdoorsy quality and a tanginess not unlike a good French Sancerre.” In fact, some of these wines, to my palate, overdeliver compared to the often overpriced Sancerre — a bit richer and with an underlying minerality and acidity that make them fresh and complex.
Winegrowing is influenced by the region’s blend of both warmer Mediterranean and cooler continental climates, and the vineyards lie on stunning hillside slopes in a wide range of soils including sand, slate, marl, and limestone. All of this makes Austrian Sauvignons among the more exciting white wines you’ll taste.
Here are five top Sauvignon Blancs from Austria, with a bonus bottle from across the border in Slovenia:
Maria & Sepp Muster Sauvignon vom Opok 2023
The Musters farm biodynamically in South Styria (Südsteiermark). Opok refers to the soil — rocky clay and silt over chalky marl subsoil — and this wine shows impressive richness, complexity, and mineral texture. It’s medium-straw in color with notes of sweet and sour apples, Meyer lemon, and orange, along with hints of honey and herbs, all balanced by a nice acidic lift.
Price: $36
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Weingut Tement ‘Kalk & Kreide’ Sauvignon Blanc 2024
Ripe stone fruit notes, especially white peach and apricot, are the hallmarks of this crisp and attractive Sauvignon from South Styria. Made from biodynamically grown grapes, it also shows hints of pear and pineapple. It’s perfectly balanced with a nice mineral texture and a saline hint on the long finish.
Price: $24
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Wohlmuth Sauvignon Blanc ‘Phyllit’ 2024
“Phyllit” or phyllite, refers to the metamorphic rock that characterizes the vineyard where the grapes for this bottling are grown in South Styria. The resulting wine is marked by crisp notes of lemon-lime, white peach, a strawberry hint, herbs, and crisp acidity. There’s a slight spritz at first before the wine settles down to a nice elegance.
Price: $23
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Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc 2024
This notable Sauvignon from South Styria leans more to the racy and herbaceous side with crisp green apple, lemon, lime, and orange notes. There’s a hint of the grassiness that’s typical of Sauvignons from many other regions, and a layer of cream on the finish keeps things well balanced.
Price: $26
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Christian Tschida ‘Himmel auf Erden’ Grande Cuvée 2023
Christian Tschida makes natural wines in Austria’s eastern Burgenland region, and this bottling is a blend of Grüner Veltliner, Furmint, and Sauvignon Blanc. The importer, Jenny & Francois Selections, notes the wine is “like biting into a juicy, freshly picked peach,” which isn’t far off. I also found a note of apricot skin and hints of garden herbs and cinnamon. Lots of minerality and refreshing acidity as well. The grapes are grown on schist and limestone soils and the wine is neither filtered nor fined (you’ll notice its cloudiness), and no sulfites are added. Different and delicious.
Price: $44
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Domaine Ciringa ‘Fosilni Breg’ Sauvignon Blanc 2023
The name of this crisp, focused, and luscious wine from the Ciringa vineyard on the Slovenian side of the border with Austria is a tipoff to its style. It means “Fossil Mountain” and the soil is composed of limestone derived from ancient coral. The wine’s textured minerality punctuates a leesy, ripe-fruit character with notes of apple, white peach, pineapple, and vanilla. It’s an altogether gorgeous wine that’s an absolute bargain at $20 or so. For an even richer experience, look for Domaine Ciringa’s 2020 “Pruh” Sauvignon Blanc, which was aged for 42 months on the lees.
Price: $20
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