Zweigelt

Zweigelt
Grape (Vitis)
Zweigelt grapes with signs of wilting
Color of berry skin	Noir
Species	Vitis vinifera
Also called	Blauer Zweigelt, Rotburger
Origin	Klosterneuburg, Austria
Original pedigree	St. Laurent & Blaufränkisch
Notable regions	Austria

Zweigelt is a red wine grape variety developed in 1922, at the Federal Institute for Viticulture and Pomology at Klosterneuburg, Austria, by Fritz Zweigelt. It was a crossing of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. It is now the most widely grown red grape variety in Austria, as well as having some presence in Canada's vineyards. In 2008, Austrian plantations stood at 6,512 hectares (16,090 acres), and have expanded in the 2000s as a part of general red wine trend in Austria.

Widely planted in Austria, Zweigelt vines have made inroads in the Canadian wine regions of Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and of British Columbia, with limited plantings in Hungary. In the Czech Republic it is known as Zweigeltrebe and is the third-most widely planted red-grape variety, comprising approximately 4.7% of total vineyards. It grows in most of the wine regions in Slovakia. As of 2010^[update], newly established Belgian and Polish vineyards have also started to plant Zweigelt. As of 2014^[update], Washington state U.S.A. has several small plantings (no more than a few acres) of Zweigelt, including Wilridge Winery and Perennial Vintners.