A little like Gamay, a little like Cab Franc, Blaufränkisch is a site expressive noble sort capable of profundity and fun. Birgit and Katrin Pfneisl are both. Rather than make wine with their father and uncles who run the well established family estate in Austria, the sisters decided to farm their ancestral vines in Sopron, Hungary, where Blaufränkisch is Kékfrankos and Pfneisl is Pfneiszl. Organic farming, old vines and wild fermentation, their wines contrasted sharply with those of their elders: lighter, prettier, less structured and more aromatic. Their Kékfrankos has always been more Blaufränkisch than most Blaufränkisch so we were happy to discover Birgit and Katrin's increasing involvement in the Austrian estate and immediately taken with the results. Blaufränker is that wine: a collaborative wine project born from the common goal of deepening our relationships with each other and this love-able grape.

A little like Gamay, a little like Cab Franc, Blaufränkisch is a site expressive noble sort capable of profundity and fun. Birgit and Katrin Pfneisl are both. Rather than make wine with their father and uncles who run the well established family estate in Austria, the sisters decided to farm their ancestral vines in Sopron, Hungary, where Blaufränkisch is Kékfrankos and Pfneisl is Pfneiszl. Organic farming, old vines and wild fermentation, their wines contrasted sharply with those of their elders: lighter, prettier, less structured and more aromatic. Their Kékfrankos has always been more Blaufränkisch than most Blaufränkisch so we were happy to discover Birgit and Katrin's increasing involvement in the Austrian estate and immediately taken with the results. Blaufränker is that wine: a collaborative wine project born from the common goal of deepening our relationships with each other and this love-able grape.

The aromatics of Zefír often trigger a strong olfactory memory of my 8th grade white flower heavy prom corsage, but the acidity, weight and light skin contact tie the whole thing together. This is a little known grape in Hungary (200 hectares total) and is likely the only 100% version exported to the US. It was created in Hungary in the early 1950s during the Soviet dictated COOP era. The name itself is also emblematic of this heyday of the Eastern Bloc. A number of other crossings like Zenit, Zengő, Zeusz, and Zéta were also created in the early 1950s by Ferenc Király. All of these “Z” grapes were inspired by the Greek God of the wind and the messenger of Spring "Zephyr." At the time, it was thought that the crossing of Zefír was Hárslevelű and Leányka. Others believed that instead of Leányka, the other parent was Fetească Albă. Regardless, recent DNA has disproved both claims and the full parentage is unknown. Nevertheless, with 10 days of maceration in open vats, full MLF and bottled unfiltered, the extra skin contact tames the extremely high acidity (most of it goes into sparkling wines elsewhere in the country) and still holds onto the explosion of white flowers.

Another fun and delicious project from sisters Birgit and Katrin Pfneisl. Rather than make wine with their father and uncles who run the well established family estate in Austria, the sisters decided to farm their ancestral vines in Sopron, Hungary. From the outset, their wines contrasted sharply with those of their elders. Organic farming, old vines and wild fermentation, all contribute to the finesse of their wines. They're lighter, prettier, less structured, more aromatic, so we were happy to discover Birgit and Katrin's increasing involvement in the Austrian estate. The Austrian Zweigler is another collaborative project born from the common goal of deepening our relationships with each other and our common love of Austria's dearest red grape, Zweigelt.

Another fun and delicious project from sisters Birgit and Katrin Pfneisl. Rather than make wine with their father and uncles who run the well established family estate in Austria, the sisters decided to farm their ancestral vines in Sopron, Hungary. From the outset, their wines contrasted sharply with those of their elders. Organic farming, old vines and wild fermentation, all contribute to the finesse of their wines. They're lighter, prettier, less structured, more aromatic, so we were happy to discover Birgit and Katrin's increasing involvement in the Austrian estate. The Austrian Zweigler is another collaborative project born from the common goal of deepening our relationships with each other and our common love of Austria's dearest red grape, Zweigelt.