[ts-VIE-gellt]

Zweigelt in British Columbia? We might be on to something here. Actually, the Zuppiger family behind Arrowleaf Cellars have been on to something since 1999 when they planted 2 acres of the Austrian red grape. The winter hardy varietal was created by Dr. Fritz Zweigelt in 1922 by crossing Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. Kurtis and I have been scheming and dreaming about drinking Okanagan wine from Austrian transplants for almost a year now. My little make believe plot of Okanagan land is quickly filling with rows of Austrian grapes: Grüner, Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, unquestionably some Gamay and Pineau d’Aunis crammed in there to represent France. Would anyone buy my wine? Likely not many, but I’d be able to sleep at night. Very well in fact with all the wine I’d have to keep me warm.

The 2006 Zweigelt from Arrowleaf is a shade darker than many I’ve seen from the Austrian homeland. Still below medium in body with pleasingly ample acidity and a creamy texture. Black cherry, cola, baking spice, with a slight meaty black pepper finish. Very tasty stuff and something different than the big marketable French grapes dominating the BC scene. I’ve only tried Arrowleaf’s Pinot Noir before this, but they both deserve attention for value. $18 is a hot deal in these parts. I have seen it at the Liberty stores in Vancouver.

So is this wine a one-off, or are the handful of other Zweigelt producers having any luck? Two wineries practicing organic viticulture offer it: Kalala Estate Winery has one and Deep Creek Wine Estate actually has four labels. Stonehill Estate Winery has a rosé, regular bottling and reserve all from the grape. I’m sure there are others as well. Being unlikely that I’ll be able to sample any of these for a couple more months, I wonder what others’ opinions and impressions are. Jurgen Gothe wrote an article and review on BC and Zweigelt over four years ago. Looks like it still hasn’t caught on.

I can imagine the hardship of selling this to the average consumer in a wine shop. For it to gain popularity, do we need to create a local synonym for the grape or do we just need to talk about it more? Jancis Robinson puts it well in the Oxford Companion to Wine: “The export fortunes of the variety may, oddly enough, be hampered by its originator’s uncompromisingly Germanic surname. If only he had been called Dr Pinot Noir.”