Ep 497: The Grape Mini-Series -- Blaufränkisch (AKA, Lemberger)

Wine for Normal People

This week we cover the unsung red of Central European wine – Blaufränkisch. This Central European red grape was planted widely in throughout the Habsburg Empire, and today the biggest plantings aren’t too far from its birthplace – right on the Austria-Hungary border.

Photo: Blaufränkisch. Credit: Austrian Wine

Blaufränkisch translates to ‘blue wine of the Franks’, and it is known as Lemberger in Germany and the US, Kékrankos in Hungary, Franconia in Italy, and various Burgundy-related names elsewhere in Central Europe. We discuss the origins of all these names, how the grape performs in the vineyard, its flavors, food pairings, and more. Whether it’s from Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Finger Lakes of New York, Washington State, Italy or Spain, this grape is versatile, multifacted and a perfect medium bodied red that’s perfect for many foods and all sorts of weather -- it can be chilled in the summer in one version and warm your bones by a fire in another.

*Note, we mentioned the Austrian anti-freeze scandal. For more on that and Austria in general, check out an old but still accurate show: Ep 051: Austria

© Austrian Wine / Austrian Wine

Go get yourself a bottle and you’ll see what we mean!

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Most information for the show from Austrian Wine, Wines of Germany, Wines of Hungary, Wine Grapes (Book, Jancis Robinson)

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