red grape · regional staple
Blaufränkisch
Lower Styria, Slovenia
Say it
blaw·frenk·ish
"blau" rhymes with "plow"; "-isch" like English "-ish"; stress falls on the first syllable
On the palate
How you spot it blind: Peppery dark fruit with piercing acidity and strong terroir sensitivity
The story
First written down · 1862, Vienna
DNA profiling confirmed parentage from Blaue Zimmettraube × Heunisch Weiss, making Blaufränkisch a half-sibling of Gamay and Chardonnay and the parent of Austria's most-planted red variety, Zweigelt, crossed in 1922.
Family tree: Zimmettraube Blau × Heunisch Weiss
Where it lives
Mittelburgenland, Austria · Leithaberg, Austria · Sopron, Hungary · Eger, Hungary · Württemberg, Germany
Shows up as
If you like this, try
Also answers to Blaufrankish, Blaunfrankisch, Kékfrankos, Frankovka, Sádovie, Lemberger, Modra Frankinja.
Shop our Blaufränkisch bottles