The Gernot Heinrich winery located in Gols, Austria produces one of my wife's favorite wines, the Zweigelt Burgenland. We were first introduced to this wine by her sister and brother-in-law, who is Austrian. We tried some other very nice wines from the Heinrich winery while staying at the incredible
Schalber Wellness Hotel Serfaus. The 2005, however, was the only vintage we could find in the States. This medium-bodied wine is made from 100% zweigelt grapes and has a dark purple hue. It starts with quite an impressive aroma of smokey cherries and plums, along with some black pepper and tobacco. On the palate, the fruit is forward and is followed by spiciness and some chewy tannins. The finish was not as long as I would have liked but still a very good wine. I am holding the remaining bottles for a few more years of aging. This is the only wine I know that has a glass stopper (cork). The 2005 Zweigelt retails for about $20. Give this wine a try. And, if you ever want to take your wife/fiance/girlfriend on a romantic and pampering vacation, make the Schalber hotel your destination.
The Zweigelt grape also has a neat history considering that it was named for the Austrian scientist (Fritz Zweigelt) who created it by crossing St. Laurent and Blaufrankisch. It's one of my favorite truly Austrian varietals.
ReplyDeleteThere are other countries who are now growing zweigelt grapes, just like CA has been growing Italian Sangiovese grapes. They just aren't as good as the original. We've had some really nice Blaufrankisch wines while in Austria.
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