(Editorial team)
The wave is here. It is not crashing thunderously over the mainland of the wine world like a tsunami; it is rolling in smoothly, almost unnoticed. Less alcohol, more enjoyment in the glass – perhaps that one extra glass the hospitality industry is so urgently lacking. Not as an act of penance, but as a deliberate choice. Two Sauvignon blancs show today how eleven per cent tastes not like deprivation, but enrichment. One comes from South Tyrol, grown on 75-year-old vines, 800 metres above sea level, where the nights are cold enough to sharpen the acidity. It smells of wet stone, lemongrass, mandarin peel and a veil of cool smoke. On the palate, pear first, then gooseberry, ending with salt. A lot of salt. One of those wines that no longer need to prove anything, but can do everything.
The other comes from South Styria. Sauvignon blanc “Gamlitz” from the legendary Sattlerhof, where they are masters of stainless-steel tanks and skin-contact time – crystal clear, taut, with an exotic edge but no breadth, acidity like a taut string. Eleven per cent here, too. The alcohol keeps itself in the background like a well-mannered guest. Effortless drinkability.
And while we drink these two wines, it is worth looking beyond the edge of the plate. There are regions that have always been able to do this: Wachau “Steinfeder” – delicate, as clear as the air of the Waldviertel rising above the Wachau (strangely, it is part of it), never above 11.5%. Then Vinho Verde from Portugal – citrusy, dancing, almost always with a little spritz. Or Txakoli from the Basque Country – dry, cool, like an Atlantic wind in the glass. All traditions proving that lightness is not a new marketing fairy tale.
What is new is the research tackling the subject. New Zealand, for example. For seven years, winegrowers and scientists have been working on producing wines with around 9.5% alcohol – without an arsenal of machinery for reducing alcohol. They are experimenting with canopy management, picking time and yeast management. The result is not a delicate compromise, but Sauvignon blanc with muscle. A prime example: “The Doctors’ Sauvignon Blanc” from Marlborough – under ten per cent, yet varietally typical down to the last sip, even if aroma yeasts, commonplace in New Zealand, are used here and there.
Australia takes a different approach. There, technology is permitted and welcomed. Reverse osmosis, early picking, blending with early-picked lots. The aim is the same: retain structure and aroma, bring the alcohol down, without the wine tasting like a cored apple – all form, no substance.
And then Germany. There, they are even venturing into dry white wines with less than five per cent. A narrow tightrope: below this mark, things become sensorily thin, and communicatively even thinner. Added to this is the fact that wine law barely recognises the zone between 4.0 and 8.4%. A playing field without clear rules – perhaps all the more interesting for that. The first prototypes are here, and yes, they are risky. But that too is part of the process when you want to define a new segment. We will be reporting clearly and shortly on one of these prototypes.
What remains? Three small truths: lightness is craftsmanship, not magic. Sauvignon blanc is suspiciously often the star performer in this field. And “light” has always existed – only the justification has changed. Once it was tradition; today it is climate change, drinking culture, the desire to enjoy an evening at length rather than fish for answers in the fog of intoxication.
Today, then, on WINEPARTY: Lageder “Fragment” and Sattlerhof “Gamlitz”. Two proofs that eleven per cent is enough. And soon, the German under-five-per-cent experiment. Not alcohol-free wines. The only question is: is Sauvignon blanc simply the secret weapon for serious light wines – or can other grape varieties do it just as well, only no one talks about them?