Weingut Malat Zweigelt 2017
Background
We’ve made no secret of our love for Austrian wines. Their whites (Riesling and Gruner Veltliner) are world-class and have garnered attention from wine drinkers all over the globe, and as delicious as they are, they’ve been hogging some of the spotlight. In addition to these great whites, Austria produces amazing cool climate reds from both indigenous and international varietals. We’re always happy to see Austrian reds on restaurant wine lists because a) they are so good with food, and b) they’re usually a great value when compared to cool climate reds from France, Italy or Germany.
The Zweigelt grape was first cultivated in the 1920s. It’s a cross-breeding of two indigenous grapes: St. Laurent a dark, juicy grape that produces good yields and ripens late in the season, and Blaufrankish which shows a red berry flavours with a pronounced herbaceous character. Zweigelt grew in popularity among farmers through the turbulent mid 1900s and eventually made the list of permitted grapes when Austria set up it’s wine laws in the 1970s.
The best Austrian (and German) wines the LCBO has to offer are all at one of their stores in Kitchener. When choosing where these wines should be sold, somebody must’ve said, “Hey, I heard Kitchener used to be called Berlin. Let’s sell all the German and Austrian wine there!”. So there it is. You’ve got to drive to Kitchener. If anyone is ever going out there for whatever reason, let us know! We’ll give you a list a wines to grab for us.
Tasting Notes
Weingut Malat is a family-run winery in Krems, about 30kms west of Vienna on the Danube River. The Malat family has been farming here for 10 generations, since the 1700s. They are some serious OGs of Austrian wine production. They produce an amazingly diverse lineup of whites, reds, sweet, and sparkling. In fact, they believe in their bubbles so much that they lobbied (successfully) to have traditional method sparkling wine permitted under local wine laws. Their Zweigelt shows true to the grape. Lots of mixed berry flavours, both red and black. Bright cranberry/raspberry acidity and a hint of warm spice. It’s got sturdy enough tannins to satisfy drinkers of ‘big reds’, but it also quite easy drinking.
Food Pairing
Mustard (Ballpark OR Dijon) – Cool climate reds with that combination of red fruit/spice/high acid are great with mustard because the acid can temper the mustardy heat and the red fruit will bring out the fruity flavours that are hiding under it. “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” (Mandatory Wayne’s World reference)
Dry Overcooked Chicken – We all have that one friend of family member that leaves those boneless skinless chicken breasts on the BBQ a little too long. This is THE PERFECT wine to save that dinner!. The acid will hep you salivate and provide the necessary juiciness and the tannin will wash that tacky, dry feeling off your palate. If you’re anticipating a dry turkey at Thanksgiving next month, maybe keep this wine handy?
Fish & Tomato Sauce – Dishes like this are notoriously hard to pair with wines. They’re too heavy for most whites but get lost behind the big reds you’d usually drink with tomato sauces. Zweigelt hits the sweet spot between the two. Mussels in a tomato broth? Pasta e Salmone? Zweigelt!
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