Blaufränkisch: Austria's Peppery Answer to Syrah

Blaufränkisch is pronounced BLAU-frenk-ish.

If you reach for Syrah because of the black pepper and the savory backbone, Blaufränkisch gives you both for less. Austria's flagship red carries the same dark fruit and spice, adds a jolt of acidity, and rarely asks Northern Rhône money.

What it tastes like

Start with the fruit: black cherry and blackberry, more tart than sweet. Then the signature move — a lick of cracked black pepper and dried herbs, the savory register that Syrah drinkers chase. Underneath runs a stony, almost graphite mineral streak, especially from the slate and limestone sites of Burgenland.

What sets it apart is structure. Blaufränkisch is a high-acid grape with firm tannins, so it stays upright and food-friendly instead of collapsing into jam. That acidity is why the wine works at the table and why it ages. It is a cool-climate red with a spine.

Sweetness sits at zero — this is a dry wine. Body lands medium to medium-full, closer to Cabernet Franc than to a heavyweight Napa Cabernet.

Where it comes from, and why you've missed it

Blaufränkisch is native to Central Europe, and DNA work pins it as a parent of Austria's Zweigelt and a building block of several other Central European reds. Its home is Burgenland, the strip of eastern Austria along the Hungarian border, where subregions like Mittelburgenland (nicknamed Blaufränkischland), Leithaberg, and Eisenberg turn out its most serious bottles.

The reason it flew under your radar is mostly a naming problem. The same grape answers to three passports: Blaufränkisch in Austria, Lemberger in Germany and parts of the US, and Kékfrankos in Hungary. A grape that changes its name at every border struggles to build one loud reputation. Austria's reds also spent decades overshadowed by its Grüner Veltliner whites, so the country's best red stayed a specialist's pick.

Bottles to look for

A handful of Burgenland producers built the grape's modern reputation, and their names are worth memorizing: Moric, Weninger, Rosi Schuster, Prieler, Wachter-Wiesler, and Heinrich. Look for a single-vineyard bottling from Mittelburgenland, Leithaberg, or Eisenberg if you want the grape at full stretch; look for a straightforward regional Blaufränkisch if you want the everyday version.

Rooting for a grape like this means being honest about its floor as well as its ceiling. Young, high-acid Blaufränkisch can taste tart and unforgiving on its own, and the cheapest bottles sometimes lean green and stalky instead of peppery. Give it air and give it food. And know that no single famous score anchors it the way one anchors Syrah, so you are buying on producer and region rather than a number, which is exactly how the people who love it prefer to shop.

Where to buy

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US availability is decent but skewed toward specialist and Austrian-focused shops rather than grocery shelves; the Burgenland names above turn up regularly online. Search by grape and let the producer guide you.

browse Blaufränkisch on Wine.com →

— Chris Berry

If you're switching from a famous grape

Syrah taught you to love pepper, dark fruit, and a savory edge. Blaufränkisch keeps all three and adds brighter acid, so it feels lighter on its feet and better at the table, usually at a friendlier price. If you want the swap laid out bottle for bottle, start there.

Wines Like Syrah · Order This Instead

Part of Lesser-Known Wines: 17 Obscure Grapes Worth Switching To — the full underdog-swap guide.