As the most widespread red wine variety in Austria, (Blauer) Zweigelt grows in favourable sites in all of the country's wine regions. The wine spectrum ranges from young-drinking, non-wood-matured versions to strong, firm wines from the barrique. The variety is also often used as a partner for cuvée wines. Big wines especially from Carnuntum and around the Neusiedlersee (Lake Neusiedl) are vinified.The variety demands little from the soil but, because it is a very fertile grape, requires intensive leaf work and yield regulation. The variety brings slightly violet-reddish coloured wines with soft tannins. Mature, full-bodied and long-living wines deliver tones of morello cherry. High-quality wines are matured also in barriques.
