Grape variety
Blaufränkisch
Blaufränkisch, the dark, spicy red of Burgenland, also called Lemberger and Kékfrankos: its origin, style, regions and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Central Europe, historically Lower Styria; Blaue Zimmettraube × Weisser Heunisch (Gouais Blanc)
- Main regions
- Austria (Burgenland, about 2,600 ha), Hungary (over 7,000 ha), Württemberg (about 1,700 ha)
- Typical aromas
- Black cherry, blackberry, black pepper; lively acidity, firm tannins
- Classic pairing
- Goulash, game, lamb, grilled meats; in Burgenland the St Martin’s goose
- Synonyms
- Lemberger (Germany), Kékfrankos (Hungary), Frankovka (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia), Modra frankinja (Slovenia)
Blaufränkisch is the dark, spicy side of Austrian wine. With about 2,600 hectares, nearly 6 per cent of the vineyard area, it is the country’s second red grape after Zweigelt, and its home is Burgenland. But it is a Central European grape with many names: in Württemberg it is called Lemberger and covers about 1,700 hectares, barely less than Trollinger; in Hungary, as Kékfrankos, it exceeds 7,000 hectares and is the most planted red grape; in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia it is Frankovka, in Slovenia Modra frankinja.
The name probably has nothing to do with the Franken region. In the Middle Ages, grapes thought to be noble were called “Frankish” (fränkisch), as opposed to the commoner “heunisch” ones. Ironically, the father is a Heunisch: DNA analysis shows that Blaufränkisch is a cross of Blaue Zimmettraube and Weisser Heunisch (Gouais Blanc), the old, once widespread peasant grape that is also a parent of Chardonnay and Gamay. Historical sources point to Lower Styria, in present-day Slovenia, as the area of origin. The name Lemberger also goes back to Lemberg in Lower Styria, from where the grape reached Germany in the 19th century.
In Austria the grape has several appellations of its own. Mittelburgenland, nicknamed “Blaufränkischland” for that reason, was the country’s first red-wine area to gain DAC status (vintage 2005). Further south, Eisenberg, with its iron-rich soils, yields tight, mineral wines, and on the western shore of Lake Neusiedl the Leithaberg area, on limestone and slate, makes elegant, nervy wines. In the glass Blaufränkisch shows deep colour, notes of black cherry and blackberry, black pepper and lively acidity with firm tannins. Simple wines are fruity and spicy; single-vineyard wines aged in barrel often last ten years and more.
In Hungary Kékfrankos is the backbone of Sopron on the Austrian border, of Szekszárd in the south and of Eger in the north, where it sets the tone in Bikavér blends, the “bull’s blood”. In Württemberg, Lemberger gives accessible reds from fruity to full-bodied that go with Swabian cooking, such as braised roasts and onion-topped sirloin. At the table Blaufränkisch asks for dishes with substance: goulash, game, lamb and grilled food, and in Burgenland traditionally the St Martin’s goose. Serve it at about 16 to 18 degrees, a little cooler for young wines.