Think of wines from Austria, most likely Grüner Veltliner will come to mind.  And although Austria has many outstanding white wines, red wines are garnering a lot of attention, with more than one-third of their vineyards planted to mostly indigenous varietals.  Blaufränkisch is the most well known, but there are a host of other native reds from the multiple winegrowing regions in the country.

A traditional greeting, Szigeti Grüner Veltliner Sekt Brut, a beautiful sparkler with a nod to Austria's best known grape

Christian Zechmeister, Managing Director of Wein Burgenland, shared his passion for Austria's red wines

Of the twenty-five designated wine regions, Burgenland provides ideal conditions for the growing and making of full-bodied red wines, like Blaufränkishch and Zweigelt.  Complex soils impart a range of minerality, depth of fruit, length, and tannic structure to these distinctive wines.  Last year, Austrian Wine was explored in depth in a seminar, “Indigenous Red Wines of Austria” led by Christian Zechmeister, Managing Director of Wein Burgenland, which hosted the trade event along with the Austrian Wine Marketing Board.  A deep dive into what makes the wines from this region stand out, through wine grape varietals, terroir, ageing potential, the beauty of blends, and sweet wines, explored through six flights, painted a definitive portrait of Austria’s quality red wines.  Nineteen red wines, so delightful, intrigued with their essence, bold, juicy and spicy, whose acidity and freshness integrate a range of red and blue fruit aromas and flavors, highlighted with a hint of white pepper.  With a range of silky smooth to intensely rich structured wines, mineral and floral highlights rounded out their palate.  Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, and St. Laurent red wines, precise in their expression, surprised with their chameleon-like palate, at once taut and graceful, linear and velvety, layers of deep flavors without the shroud of too much oak, very seamless in their integration of texture and body.  While there is much to learn about the red wines of Burgenland, it’s best to experience them in the glass.  Here are my favorites of the seminar:

Flight 1:  Zweigelt meets St. Laurent

Hannes Reeh Rohstoff Zweigelt 2015 - smooth and silky, well balanced and integrated

Pittnauer St. Laurent Altenberg 2015 - more intense red fruit profile, rich with floral notes

Flight 2:  Blaufränkisch Terroir
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Paul Achs Blaufränkisch Altenberg 2015 -  smooth and elegant, red berry fruit, and long finish

Altenburger Leithaberg Blaufränkisch 2015 - lifted palate, high acidity, well balanced and delicious

Iby Mittelburgenland Blaufränkisch 2015 - a big structured wine, black fruit, spicy, with mouthwatering acidity

Flights 3 & 4:  Ageing Potential  

Schiefer/Kilger Euisenberg Reserve Szapary 2012 - full body, intense fruit but smooth and round on the palate

Weninger Durrau Blaufränkisch 2011- very intense and structured, a powerful wine with blackberry fruit and spice, long finish

Prieler Leithaberg rot Blaufränkisch 2007 - smooth and rich, blackberry fruit and white pepper, elegant structure, creamy on the finish, still a young wine!

Flight 5: Blends

Kollwentz Steinzeiler 2013 - blend of Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, and Cabernet Sauvignon, elegant and rich, an intense wine with a long finish

Flight 6:  Sweet & Sticky

Feiler-Artinger Ruster Ausbruch Pinot Cuvée 2013 - acidity helps mitigate sweetness, perfect with apple strudel

Kracher TBA No. 5 Zwischen den Seen 2013 - rich and creamy wine made from Scheurebe, best with ripe blue cheese

Lithe and luscious, the red wines of Austria, and specifically Burgenland, provide an energy and depth of flavor in a well-balanced and integrated package.  Powerful in its profile, but not overpowering in its structure, Blaufränkisch is perfect with food and made for aging, with the acidity of Pinot Noir and the delicate structure of Nebbiolo, without the blast of alcohol, but with enough to produce a round body in the glass.  The deep fruit flavors are tinged with a minerality, born of the soils, which gives an intriguing spin to the wines.  A hint of white pepper lifts the aromatics and palate, making for a juicy, spicy wine fit for all occasions, great by the glass and even better with food.