Blaufränkisch

Blaufränkisch. It's like Jennifer Garner's agent Sydney Bristow in Alias. So many shifts in identity you lose track of her. In Austria, where the grape finds its greatest expression, she's - well - Blaufränkisch. In Hungary, she's Kekafrancos; Germany, Limberger; Friuili, Franconia; in Bulgaria, Gamé. Over the Atlantic, in Washington State, she drops the "i" in favor of the "e" to become Lemberger. Twenty years ago, no one in the U.S. really had heard of the grape (assuming you weren't part of the Pan Am crowd). Then, we were still busy trying to assimilate Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc into our vocabulary. But increasingly today, knowledge of grapes such as these is the mark of an urbane wine consumer.

And what of this grape with its central European medieval pedigree and hue of midnight blue? (It harkens back to Charlemagne, mind you). This grape arguably is Austria's signature red. When it's grown meticulously, as on the banks of Austria's Lake Neusiedlersee in Middle Burgenland, winemakers treat it like a Syrah from the Côte Rotie, with lots of fine French oak to complement the powerful, tannic and peppery-brambly quality found in those Northern Rhone wines. Of course, to arrive at that level of finesse and ageability, winegrowers need to grow the grape with very limited yields on sloping, warm, nutrient- laden hills where it can perform. More likely, however, you'll encounter-- in most other instances and places this wine is produced -- a lighter variation, much like a cru Beaujolais. At a lesser level, the grape usually is blended with Zweigelt, Austria's other major native red grape, or Cabernet Sauvignon. Somewhere in there, though, is always that Sydney—that Blaufränkisch. She's just gone undercover.

Top Producers:

Dorli Muhr, Spitzerberg, "Carnuntum"

Roland Velich, Moric Bläufrankisch, "Necken Markter"

Silvia Prieler, Bläufrankisch, "Johannislohe"