The Zweigelt, also known as Rotburger, is a new Austrian grape created in 1922 by Friedrich Zweigelt (1888–1964), who later became Director of the Federal Institute and Experimental Station of Viticulture, Fruit Production and Horticulture (1938–1945). It comprises a crossing between St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch.

Wine regions

Widely planted in Austria, Zweigelt vines have made inroads in the Canadian

wine region This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...

s of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in t ...

and of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, with limited plantings in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. In the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

it is known as ''Zweigeltrebe'' and is the third-most widely planted red-grape variety, comprising approximately 4.7% of total vineyards. It grows in most of the wine regions in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. , newly established Belgian and Polish vineyards have also started to plant Zweigelt. ,

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...

has several small plantings (only a few acres) of Zweigelt, including Wilridge Winery and Perennial Vintners.

Naming and synonyms

Zweigelt is also known as Rotburger (not to be confused with Rotberger), Zweigeltrebe, and Blauer Zweigelt. Lenz Moser recognised the suitability of the “St. Laurent x Blaufränkisch” variety for high-trained vines as early as the 1950s. Moser considered the designation “St. Laurent x Blaufränkisch” to be too long, and from this point onwards argued that the crossing should be named after its original grower, Friedrich Zweigelt. By 1958, the naming process had reached a stage at which it could no longer be stopped. The official designation “Zweigeltrebe Blau” appeared for the first time in 1972, when the new Grape Variety Index for Qualitätsweine (Quality Wines) was launched. The name of the variety was altered to “Blauer Zweigelt” in 1978, and the synonym “Rotburger” was created at the same time. The aim here was to make it clear that the new cultivations of Blauburger, Goldburger and Rotburger/Blauer Zweigelt all shared a common origin. No evidence can be found to support the widespread assertion that Zweigelt himself had applied the designation “Rotburger” to his new variety. “Rotburger” remains a valid synonym and continues to be used as a label designation by Austrian vintners, although most producers prefer the name Zweigelt. The problem of naming the variety after a committed National Socialist was first addressed publicly in December 2018.Magdalena Pulz: ''Der Geist in der Flasche.'' In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung.'' 13 December 2018, p. 1 (online:
Wein in Österreich –Zwielichtiger Zweigelt
').

Viticultural characteristics

In the

Puget Sound AVA The Puget Sound AVA is an American Viticultural Area in western Washington State. It is the only AVA in the state of Washington that is located west of the Cascade Mountains. Note that in 2019 there is a committee working to establish a southwe ...

it tends to ripen 1–2 weeks earlier than Pinot Noir, and has very large heavy clusters of dark blue-almost-black grapes. The wine tends to be darker in color than Pinot Noir grown in the same area, and produces a larger crop than Pinot Noir. 20191213-zwcluster-IMG 3527

References

{{Authority control Red wine grape varieties Austrian wine Czech wine Hungarian wine Food and drink introduced in 1922

Wine regions

Naming and synonyms

Viticultural characteristics

See also

References