Grape variety
Zweigelt
Zweigelt, Austria’s most planted red grape, bred around 1922 from St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch: its style, where it grows and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Klosterneuburg near Vienna, usually dated to 1922: St. Laurent × Blaufränkisch (Fritz Zweigelt)
- Main regions
- Austria, about 6,000 hectares (over 13 % of vineyards); smaller areas in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Canada
- Typical aromas
- Cherry, wild berries, pepper; soft tannins, moderate acidity
- Classic pairing
- Roast pork, sausages, Wiener Schnitzel, a cold-cut platter
- Synonyms
- Blauer Zweigelt, Zweigeltrebe, Rotburger
Zweigelt is the red wine you are most likely to find in an Austrian glass. With about 6,000 hectares, a little over 13 per cent of the vineyard area, it is the country’s most planted red grape, on more than twice the area of Blaufränkisch, and, after Grüner Veltliner, the second most important overall. It grows in almost all wine regions, most strongly in Burgenland and Lower Austria: around Lake Neusiedl, in Carnuntum east of Vienna and in the Weinviertel.
The grape is young. It was bred around 1922, under the direction of Fritz Zweigelt, at the viticultural institute in Klosterneuburg near Vienna, as a cross of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. In the 1950s the grower Lenz Moser pressed for it to be named after its breeder. Rotburger lives on as a synonym, alongside Blauer Zweigelt and Zweigeltrebe. In 2018 a public debate flared up over the name, because Fritz Zweigelt had been close to National Socialism; the grape kept it.
Zweigelt is an everyday wine. It has a bright ruby to dark red colour, aromas of cherry and wild berries with a spicy, peppery note, soft tannins and moderate acidity. The vine is vigorous and productive; only restrained yields give wines with depth, while excessive crops produce thin wines that tire quickly. Compared with Blaufränkisch it is more approachable: less severe, but pleasing from the start. Most wines are drunk young and made in steel tank or large wooden cask; ambitious reserves mature in barrique and gain density and vanilla and toasty notes. Rosés and blends with Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent or Cabernet are common. Lake Neusiedl has, in Neusiedlersee DAC, an appellation of its own built around Zweigelt; the basic wine of this DAC, the Klassik, must contain at least 85 per cent Zweigelt, the Reserve at least 60 per cent. Carnuntum too is known for its Zweigelt wines.
Outside Austria, Zweigelt is found mainly in the Czech Republic, where it is called Zweigeltrebe and is among the most planted reds, and in Slovakia, and in smaller amounts also in Hungary and in Canada, in Ontario and British Columbia. At the table it is a grateful companion: roast pork, sausages, Wiener Schnitzel, Tafelspitz (boiled beef) and the classic Brettljause cold-cut platter, but also pasta with tomato sauce and pizza. Served lightly chilled, at 14 to 16 degrees, it shows its fruit at its best.