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Hi there (or Grüss Gott as the Austrians say). Beau from Basic Juice here. If you’re familiar with my blog, you know I am an unabashed Austrian wine lover - so much so that I recently disappeared into the Austrian countryside for a month on the Live Austrian Wine Adventure. I blame the folks at Winemonger for my obssession with the wines of Austria.

Of course as a wine enthusiast, I was somewhat familiar with Austrian wine. However, I thought wine from Austria began with Grüner Veltliner and ended with Riesling. Little did I know that these wines are the tip of the proverbial Austrian iceberg. In late 2005, my eyes were opened to the diversity and uniqueness of Austria’s wine. Thanks to Winemonger, I had the opportunity to sample a number of Sauvignon Blancs from Southern Styria. Indeed, when I read, “Sauvignon Blanc” on the bottles, a number of preconceived adjectives danced through my head: lime, lemongrass, lemon zest, along with, uhh, cat micturition. I figured, “Eh. Sauvignon Blanc from Austria; how different can it be?” Oh, It be very different.

After cracking open Sabathi’s ‘Merveileux’ Sauvignon Blanc, the wiring between my nose and brain nearly short-circuited. My brain was expecting some variation on the typical Sauvignon Blanc scent profile, yet my nose was detecting vanilla, peach and pear. I must have began twitching with excitement as my wife asked me if everything was all right. Everything was quite alright - I was simply enjoying one of those rare out-of-body wine experiences. Said experience was greatly enhanced once I took a sip of the Merveilleux. It draped my mouth in silk while pirouetting across my tongue with nimble acidity. I tasted mango and pineapple, along with hints of vanilla yogurt. I was in heaven.

After my metaphysical Sauvignon Blanc experience, I wanted to taste and explore every facet of Austria’s wine landscape. I dreamt up the idea for a Live Austrian Wine Adventure, and the rest they say, is history. After having criss-crossed the country and having sipped hundreds of wines, I can say that despite its dimunitive stature among global wine producers, Austria offers, some of the most unique and compelling wines on the market today.

I’ll be dropping by to post here on Winemonger Talk a couple of times per week. I hope you’ll join me. We’ll be exploring all things wine - with, of course, a focus on Austrian wine. Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments section, and just for fun, tell me about your most recent out-of-body wine experience. Cheers!