Aromas of black cherry and cracked black pepper interlace with notes of old barrel and earth. The palate delivers raspberry, cherry, red plum and lingonberry with black pepper and cinnamon. This is medium-weight, juicy, bright and balanced with medium tannins. Pure and typical of the varietal, the wine continues with raspberry and some earth on the finish.

Wine Information

Zweigelt is a Blaufränkisch/Saint Laurent crossing developed by Dr. Zweigelt at the Klosterneuburg research station in Austria in 1922.  It combines the brightness of Blaufränkisch (we grow this here in the Finger Lakes as Lemberger) with the elegance of Saint Laurent.  It ripens earlier than the former but buds later than the latter, making it less susceptible to frosts and encouraging good yields.  Zweigelt is Austria’s most popular red grape.  It can be made in the style of a Beaujolais, to be drunk young—the popular liter bottle is typical.  It can also be fermented and aged in oak to produce a more serious, age-worthy wine.  It’s a wonderful autumn wine, warming and rich as the weather develops a nip.

The Pfaff family has been making wine for over 40 years. Roman Josef Pfaffl is the winemaker, and his sister Heidi Fischer oversees the commercial side. Father Roman Pfaffl looks after the vineyards and mother Adelheid watches over the newest generation. In 2016 they were named European Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast, the first Austrian winery to ever get this distinction. In just under 20 years Roman Pfaffl ambitiously grew a little farm with less than 2 acres of vines into a nearly 50 acre wine estate, meandering through 10 villages throughout Weinvertel. Biodiversity is important to Pfaffl, with a simple idea: the more biodiversity there is in the vineyard, the healthier the entire ecosystem is. The vineyard contains selected flowering plants to compete with vigorous grasses that provide a habitat for the beneficial insects amongst the vines.

The vines are grown in loess soils with hot days and cool nights. The grapes are destemed and and after fermentation the wine is aged in a combination of used barriques (30%) and stainless steel tanks (70%) for six months.

Charcuterie, Cheese, Chicken/Turkey, Duck, Ham, Mexican, Mushrooms, Roasted Root Vegetables, Sausage, Wild Game