The Mrs. and I took the recommendation of our favorite wine shop and bought a bottle of 2007 zweigelt by Anton Bauer. For those who have never heard of the zweigelt grape, join the club. For starters, it’s pronounced TSVYE-gelt. It was created in 1922 when Austrian biologist and viticulturalist Dr. Fritz Zweigelt crossed the Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent grapes, and is now by far the most widely-grown red grape in Austria.
Without knowing exactly what we were getting into, we planned a spaghetti dinner with a sauce that typically pairs well with a wide range of red wines – it is meaty and full of onions, mushrooms, garlic, and a proprietary blend of herbs and spices.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to let the wine breathe (we generally give all of our reds at least an hour or two; more for the younger, tannic stuff), so I grabbed our handy Vinturi and poured a couple of ounces for each of us. The wine is ruby in color all the way to its edges, which is expected in a wine of this relative youth. It is similar in appearance to a Beaujolais, made from the gamay grape. I confess that Beaujolais is not usually my first (or second) choice at the local shop, so I was a little nervous at this point. However, the aroma showed layers that are hard for me to find in a gamay – ripe cherries, flowers, and a touch of oak. A sip confirmed what the nose told me, finishing with a pleasant spice laced with cinnamon.
The wine proved an excellent pair with our dinner, and now has me on the prowl for more. If Anton Bauer is hard to find (as usual, it depends on where you live), Hillinger is said to make a nice zweigelt that might be easier to track down. Happy drinking!
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Here's the rub with this blog, in particular when it slants toward the wine topics: I always plan to enjoy it with my morning coffee, and then find myself wishing it was wine thirty instead!
ReplyDeleteAs for this particular post, I'd say it wasn't the best pairing for my caramel cream caribou cup (because what is normally a delicious day-starter became a poor excuse for a "glass of class" once you got my tongue-buds fired up for vino), but it was rife with rich imagery, and it finished with a soothing note of can't-wait-to-see-you-and-the-Mrs.---side-note-I-further-can't-believe-you-called-her-that-but-you-do-wear-bowties-so-I'll-let-it-slide-end-side-note---tonight!
So apparently the phonetic spelling of this wine is no more helpful in how to pronounce it than the actual spelling of this wine. But it sounds tasty either way. :)
ReplyDeletethis is totally off topic BUT...should you ever need to rename your blog or start a second blog I have the PERFECT name for it! I think your next blog should be called "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" :)
ReplyDeleteAshleigh, I thought the exact same thing myself!! We even talked about that at dinner the other night. Sorry I didn't get to see you at Disney. Hope to visit with you next time you're in town!
ReplyDeleteYes, the pronunciation is a little cumbersome, but it's better to struggle with it than to revert to the easier-to-pronounce-but-not-very-tasty-sounding "rotburger," which is an alternative name for the same grape.
ReplyDeleteMr. Smith in Washington signing off...