Blaufränkisch
Blaufränkisch | |
---|---|
Grape (Vitis) | |
Species | Vitis vinifera |
Also called | modra frankinja, Lemberger, Blauer Limberger, Frankovka (Franconia), Kékfrankos, Gamé |
Origin | Lower Styria (now part of Slovenia) |
Original pedigree | Gouais blanc (Weißer Heunisch; male parent) × Blaue Zimmettraube |
Pedigree parent 1 | Gouais blanc |
Pedigree parent 2 | Blaue Zimmettraube |
Notable regions | Sopron, Villány, Szekszárd and Eger |
Notable wines | Egri Bikavér |
VIVC number | 1459 |
Blaufränkisch (
The grape is grown across Central Europe, including Austria, Czech Republic (in particular southern Moravia where it is known as Frankovka), Germany, Slovakia (where it is known as Frankovka modrá), Croatia, Serbia (frankovka), Slovenia (known as modra frankinja), and Italy (Franconia). In Hungary the grape is called Kékfrankos (also lit. blue Frankish) and is grown in a number of wine regions including Sopron, Villány, Szekszárd, and Eger (where it is a major ingredient in the famous red wine blend known as Egri Bikavér (lit. Bull's Blood) having largely replaced the Kadarka grape). It has been called "the Pinot noir of the East" because of its spread and reputation in Eastern Europe.[1] In America the grape is also known as Lemberger, Blauer Limberger or Blue Limberger and grown in Pennsylvania, Washington state, Michigan, New Jersey,[3] Idaho, New York, Colorado,[4] Ohio, Virginia.[5] and California,[6]
DNA profiling has shown that Blaufränkisch is a cross between Gouais blanc (Weißer Heunisch; male parent) and Blaue Zimmettraube (female parent; the offspring of Blauer Gänsfüsser). Historical sources of grapevine classification have provided very solid evidence that the geographic area of origin of the variety is Lower Styria (today Slovenian Styria).[7] For a long time before the application of DNA analysis, Blaufränkisch was erroneously thought to be a clone of the Gamay grape variety, due to certain similarities in morphology and possibly due to its name Gamé in Bulgaria.[1]
The German name Lemberger derives from the fact that it was imported to Germany in the 19th century from
History and origins
While the first officially documented appearance of Blaufränkisch did not occur until 1862 when the grape was included in a
Despite the close association to Franconia,
The synonyms Lemberger and Limberger first appeared in literature near the end of the 19th century in relation to the grape's believed origins from the
Viticulture
The Blaufränkisch vine is known as an early
Blaufränkisch is considered a high productive vine capable of producing high
Wine regions
Today Blaufränkisch is planted across the globe from
Austria
It is possible that Blaufränkisch or a similar forerunner of the grape was already cultivated in regions of present Austria (Lower Austria and Burgenland) in the 10th century. In his 1777 publication Beschreibung der in der Wiener Gegend gemeinen Weintrauben-Arten, ampelographer Sebastian Helbling accounted the variety as one of the best red grape varieties of Lower Austria, and used the name Schwarze Fränkische for it.[1][8]
In present-day Austria Blaufränkisch is the second most important red grape variety after
Outside the Burgenland, 807 hectares (1,990 acres) of Blaufränkisch were planted in the
In the Carnuntum area located between Vienna and the Neusiedlersee, the slate-based soils near the city of Spitzerberg are also home to some Blaufränkisch plantings.[8]
Districtus Austriae Controllatus and wine styles
Within Austria Blaufränkisch is a permitted variety in several Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC) zones. Producers in the Burgenland tend to delineate light bodied, unoaked Blaufränkisch wines to the Mittleburgenland DAC Classic, while labeling more full bodied, oaked styles as Burgenland DAC Reserve.[8]
In the Eisnberg DAC of the southern Südburgenland, the grape is grown in iron-rich soils and tends to produce a distinctive varietal style. In the Leithaberg DAC situated in the slate and limestone hills around the Leitha Mountains, Blaufränkisch must make up at least 85% of the blend, with St. Laurent, Zweigelt or Pinot noir permitted to round out the remaining portion. In this cooler climate wine region the Blaufränkisch tends to be, as described by Robinson, "nervy and elegant".[8]
In Austria, Blaufränkisch tends to produce
Other European wine regions
In Germany, there are 1,729 hectares (4,270 acres) of Blaufränkisch, grown primarily in the
Blaufränkisch, known here as Frankovka, is the second most widely grown red grape variety in the
In Hungary, the grape is known as Kékfrankos (literally "Blue Frankish") and Nagyburgundi. There are more than 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) of the variety planted throughout the country, particularly around
In Slovenia, the grape is known as Modra Frankinja. At present, there are 2,759,316 reeds of Blue Frankish that are planted in Slovenia, which grow on almost 700 hectares of wine-growing areas. This represents 4.68 percent of all plantations in the country. The variety of Blue Frankish is spread in two wine-growing regions Podravje and Posavje. It's the fourth most common variety of red grapes in Slovenia.
Blaufränkisch goes by the name Burgund Mare in
In Croatia, the nearly 880 hectares (2,200 acres) of Blaufränkisch, known as Frankovka, represent around 2.7% of all Croatian vineyard plantings. This number is expected to rise, as many plantings previously thought to be a different variety, Borgonja, have now been proven by DNA testing to be Blaufränkisch. Most of the Croatian plantings are found in the
In
New World wine regions
In the
The grape can be found across the United States, from the
In Canada, Lemberger is found in several planting in the Niagara Peninsula DVA.
Washington Lemberger
The grape has a long history in Washington State, where it known mostly as Lemberger. Here the grape has been used to produce a variety of styles from light bodied
As of 2011 there were 30 hectares (74 acres) of the variety planted throughout the
Despite the grape's history, winemakers have had a difficult time marketing the grape due to consumers' association of the name Lemberger with the
According to wine expert
Wines and food pairings
Blaufränkisch wines have
According to wine expert
In
Offspring and relationship to other varieties
At one time it was believed that Blaufränkisch was a
Blaufränkisch is a parent to
In 1951 researchers at the
In 1986 Blaufränkisch was crossed with
Synonyms
Over the years Blaufränkisch has been known under a variety of synonyms including Blanc doux, Blau Fränkisch, Blau Fränkische, Blauer Limberger (Germany), Blaufränkische, Blaufranchis, Blaufranchisch, Blue French, Borgonja (Croatia), Burgund Mare (Romania), Cerne Skalicke, Cerne Starosvetske, Cerny Muskatel, Chirokolistny, Cierny Zierfandler, Crna Frankovka (Croatia), Crna Moravka, Fernon, Fränkische, Fränkische schwarz, Franconia (Italy), Franconia nera (Itay), Franconia nero, Franconien bleu, Franconien noir, Frankinja, Frankinja modra, Frankovka (Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic), Modra Frankinja (Slovenia), Frankovka modra (Slovakia), Imbergher, Jubiläumsrebe, Gamay noire, Gamé (Bulgaria), Karmazin, Kék Frankos, Kékfrank, Kékfrankos (Hungary), Lampart, Lemberger (Germany and United States), Limberg, Limberger (Germany), Limberger blauer, Limberger noir, Limburske, Maehrische, Modra Frankija, Modra Frankinja, Modry hyblink, Moravka, Moravske, Muskateller schwarz, Nagy burgundi, Nagyburgundi (Hungary), Neskorak, Neskore, Neskore cierne, Noir de Franconie, Oporto (Slovakia), Orna Frankovka, Portugais lerouse, Portugais rouge, Portugieser rother, Pozdni, Pozdni skalicke cerne, Schwarz Limberger, Schwarze Fraenkische, Schwarzer Burgunder, Schwarzgrobe, Serina, Shirokolistnyi, Sirokolidtnyj, Sirokolstnii, Skalicke cerne, Starovetsky hrozen, Sura Liscina (Serbia), Szeleslevelü, Teltfürtü Kékfrankos, Vaghyburgundi, Velke bugundske and Vojvodin.[8][17]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wein-Plus Wein-Glossar: Blaufränkisch, accessed on January 23, 2013
- ^ a b c d e Appellation America "Lemberger Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine" Accessed: January 20th, 2013
- ^ "Bellview Winery". Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
- ISBN 9781563054341
- ^ Blue Frankish – A Great Wine By Any Name WineCompass
- ^ "Alpen Cellars - LEMBERGER / BLAUFRANKISH". Archived from the original on 2016-07-04. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- doi:10.5073/vitis.2016.55.135-143. Archived from the originalon 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2
- ^ ISBN 0-15-100714-4
- ^ Wein-Plus Wein-Glossar: Blaufränkischland, accessed on January 23, 2013
- ^ Wine of Czech Republic: Statistics & Charts Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on June 26, 2011
- ^ a b c Leslie Kelly "Washington's Unsung Wine Needs a Name Change" Seattle Magazine, January 18th, 2013
- ^ a b Richard Kinssies "Wine Pick of the Week: 2001 Kiona Lemberger"' Seattle Post-Intelligencer June 17th, 2003
- ^ ISBN 0-520-24869-4
- ^ Frank Prial "WINE TALK; And Now for Something a Little Different" The New York Times April 25th, 2001
- ^ Leslie Kelly "Lemberger Comes Into Its Own" The Spokesman-Review November 9th, 1993
- ^ Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) Blaufränkisch Archived 2012-01-21 at the Wayback Machine Accessed: January 18th, 2013