In relation to pink wine, many people think about the luxurious, darkish wine that comes out of hotter climates like California and Bordeaux. Nonetheless what happens when pink grapes are grown in bigger altitudes and cooler climates?
To hunt out out, you need to fashion Austrian Zweigelt.
This week we’re talking about Zweigelt: Austria’s flagship pink that models itself apart with some explosive attributes.
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If Grüner Veltliner had a fraternal twin, it is perhaps Zweigelt.
Whereas they may look completely totally different, every can particular terroir and convey mouth-puckering acidity. Nonetheless Zweigelt models itself apart with distinct flavors of rich, pink fruit.
If there’s one space in Austria best acknowledged for its pink wine, it is perhaps Burgenland: so that’s the place this week’s bottle bought right here from.
For an added tasting bonus, this wine is made with pure grapes, which could add some pleasurable aromas and flavors that you just wouldn’t in every other case have the possibility to fashion.
2016 Heinrich Zweigelt
Look: Medium ruby.
Aromas: Raspberry, cherry, black pepper, dill, and some funky, cured meat (most likely the outcomes of brettanomyces).
On The Palate: Bitter cherry candy and unripe raspberries on the assault: wow, that’s tart! But it surely certainly indirectly smoothes out to a darkish chocolate finish.
Meals Pairing: Some grilled hen or duck may be good: the acid ought to cut back by the fat! Moreover had a roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese in my head. And now I’m hungry.
What We Found About Austrian Zweigelt
Keep in mind these two particulars: Zweigelt is Austria’s most-planted pink grape and the product of two distinctly Austrian grapes (Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent). Primarily based totally on that, it’s easy to make a case for Zweigelt being most likely probably the most Austrian pink grape of all time. But it surely certainly goes method further than that.
That huge hit of acidity from Zweigelt is due, largely, to the native climate. By itself, the Burgenland space in Austra is prone to be considerably hotter than the rest of the nation, nevertheless cool air from the north and Lake Neusiedl retains grapes rising at a cost that retains their acidity strong.
That is part of what it means when a wine can “particular the native terroir,” and it’s what retains Zweigelt so distinctive.
And whereas Zweigelt might principally be acknowledged for being tart and fruity, it’s moreover acknowledged to be very versatile, with some being barrel-aged into dense, luscious wines with further physique.
Remaining Impressions
Pound for pound (or should I say “kilogram for kilogram”?), Austria is a wine nation with precise choice that is all too normally ignored by most people of wine drinkers. On one hand, that’s good for these of us who respect a bottle of 1 factor distinctive and cost-effective.
Then once more, Austria utterly deserves further consideration from wine drinkers common. And Zweigelt is a big part of that.
The place did you get your Zweigelt from? Together with Austria, yow will uncover this tart, pink wine in Germany, Hungary, and even Japan! Inform us what you thought inside the suggestions.
Looking for further in-depth information on the wines of Austria? Check out this data.