white wine set with ieva elvyra

michi lorenz “wicked garden” 2022 — styria (steiermark), austria

a field-blend led by pinot blanc with riesling and sauvignon blanc, grown on the steep schist/slate slopes of the sausal mountains around kitzeck im sausal. the high, wind-exposed vineyards (≈400–620 m) and extremely poor, mineral-rich schist lock in acidity and tension while building texture. red, black and grey schists — a lorenz signature — pull the wine away from fruitiness and into a stony, smoky profile with real energy. the blend changes each year depending on ripeness, making every “wicked garden” slightly different and never formulaic.

about the winemaker
michi lorenz is one of styria’s true originals: a former punk drummer turned biodynamic farmer who refuses to follow classic austrian “clean & crisp” stereotypes. he works almost entirely by hand on tiny terraces, ferments with native yeast, and often ages in large neutral oak. no cosmetics, no filtering, just raw expression of schist and altitude. his wines are known for their texture and their edge — always alive, slightly wild, but deeply precise. he’s considered one of the pioneers who made “natural styria” a thing before it was trendy.

piri naturel “pinot blanc –1954–” 2022 — nahe, germany

jasmin (christine) pieroth bottles this from pinot blanc vines planted in 1954 — among the oldest in the region — rooted deep in slate-dominant soils on steep south-facing slopes. the old vines bring natural concentration and a salty, rocky finish that slate amplifies. instead of creamy pinot blanc, you get tight structure, citrus skin, quiet power, and long lees complexity. it’s a rare old-vine weisserburgunder that prioritizes mineral tension over fatness — a style almost nobody else makes in the nahe.

about the winemaker
piri naturel is jasmin pieroth’s personal project, separate from her family’s historic winery (founded 1781). she is part of the new german wave favouring biodynamics, spontaneous fermentations and zero additives. she works with old vines, small parcels and long élevage in old barrels. everything is bottled unfiltered, often with minimal or no sulfur, but with a level of precision that makes her wines incredibly clean. jasmin is also one of the few focusing on old-vine pinot blanc, elevating a grape most people overlook. her label designs and storytelling reflect her personality — thoughtful, artistic, modern, but rooted in deep tradition.

clos fantine “valcabrières blanc” 2023 — languedoc (faugères / cabrières), france

contrary to the assumption, this isn’t chardonnay — it’s mostly ancient terret blanc (sometimes with a bit of terret gris), grown on high-elevation schist slopes in cabrières and faugères. schist is everything here: flaky blue, grey and pink layers that drain fast and force deep roots. the result is a white with southern sun but alpine tension — salty, bitter-peel notes, pear skin, herbal lift, zero makeup. the terret grape has almost disappeared from france, making this bottling both historical and truly unique to this place.

about the winemaker
clos fantine is run by the andrieu siblings — corinne, carole and olivier — who farm 100% organically, use no oak, no filtering, no sulfur, no pumps. everything is gravity-fed and vinified by parcel. they inherited old-vine vineyards from their father and refused to “modernize”. instead, they doubled down on authenticity: indigenous grapes, long macerations, full malolactic, patient élevage. their reds are cult status, but their whites are secret gems. they’re considered one of the purest expressions of faugères terroir — farmers first, winemakers second.

keltis “rumeni muškat” 2022 — bizeljsko (posavje), slovenia

yellow muscat from organic/biodynamic vines in bizeljsko — a cool hilly area near the sava river with marl, clay-limestone mixes and constant airflow. short to medium skin contact adds grip and depth while keeping the floral perfume laser-precise. unlike typical muscat which leans sweet or simple, keltis gives savory edges, structure, and a dry, mouthcoating finish. this bottle shows that rumeni muškat can be serious and age-worthy when grown in the right soils and treated like a noble grape.

about the winemaker
keltis is a small, family-run estate led by miha kelhar, now the second generation. they were early adopters of biodynamics in slovenia and earned demeter certification. they work with long macerations, spontaneous ferments, no filtration, and minimal sulfur (often zero). miha is known for blending tradition with creativity — he makes pét-nats, skin-contact whites, structured reds — all with an unmistakable house style: pure, textural, alive. the winery is one of the leaders of the slovenian natural wine movement and a benchmark for rumeni muškat done right.