Blaufränkisch (; German for blue Frankish) is a dark-skinned variety of grape used for red wine. Blaufränkisch, which is a late-ripening variety, produces red wines which are typically rich in tannin and may exhibit a pronounced spicy character.
The grape is grown across Central Europe, including Austria, the Czech Republic (in particular southern Moravia where it is known as Frankovka), Germany, Slovakia (where it is known as Frankovka modrá), Croatia, Serbia (frankovka), Slovenia (known as modra frankinja), and Italy (Franconia). In Hungary the grape is called Kékfrankos (also lit. blue Frankish) and is grown in a number of wine regions including Sopron, Villány, Szekszárd, and Eger (where it is a major ingredient in the famous red wine blend known as Egri Bikavér (lit. Bull's Blood) having largely replaced the Kadarka grape). It has been called "the Pinot noir of the East" because of its spread and reputation in Eastern Europe. Idaho, New York, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia. and California,
DNA profiling has shown that Blaufränkisch is a cross between Gouais blanc (Weißer Heunisch; male parent) and Blaue Zimmettraube (female parent; the offspring of Blauer Gänsfüsser). Historical sources of grapevine classification have provided very solid evidence that the geographic area of origin of the variety is Lower Styria (today Slovenian Styria). For a long time before the application of DNA analysis, Blaufränkisch was erroneously thought to be a clone of the Gamay grape variety, due to certain similarities in morphology and possibly due to its name Gamé in Bulgaria.
Despite the close association to Franconia, ampelographers believe that the grape likely originated somewhere in a swath of land stretching from Dalmatia through Austria and Hungary. They base this belief on the proliferation of synonyms originating from these areas as well as DNA evidence showing that the old Hungarian wine grape Kékfrankos was, in fact, Blaufränkisch, and that Gouais blanc (Weisser Heunisch) and an unknown grape variety are the parent varieties of Blaufränkisch. Despite its French name, it has been speculated that Gouais blanc has Eastern European origins, with the term "Heunisch" thought to derive from the Huns, and Gouais blanc being confirmed as a parent variety of another old Hungarian wine grape Furmint, but ultimately the exact birthplace of both Gouais blanc and Blaufränkisch are unknown.
Wine regions
Today Blaufränkisch is planted across the globe from Japan, the United States and Australia to Germany, Hungary and Austria. The Mittelburgenland is considered ideal for the grape due to the dry warm winds from the east across the Pannonian Plain, and the sheltering influence of the hill regions to the north, south and west of the region. It is grown only in the Moravian wine subregions due to its late-ripening nature. Almost 9% of the total vineyard area in Slovakia () is planted to Blaufränkisch, where the grape is more widely known as Frankovka modrá. In the city of Bratislava, specifically the suburb of Rača, local wine producers hold an annual wine festival that highlights Frankovka modrá wines from the region as well as examples of Blaufränkisch from around the globe. In 1976, John Williams of Kiona Vineyard in what is now the Red Mountain AVA planted a few hectares that would be used in 1980 to make the first commercial Lemberger wine produced in Washington.
As of 2011 there were of the variety planted throughout the Columbia Valley AVA, including Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley AVA,
According to wine expert Paul Gregutt, Washington Lembergers are characterized by their "blood red" color, with light peppery spice aromas and flavors of ripe berry fruit.