Wine Food Pairing….I'll have a glass of Zweigelt, please!

My Wine Food Pairing adventures have taken me to Austria on occasion, and is there anything more romantic than sitting in an Austrian wine house, known as a heurigen?


A typical heurigen is marked by pine boughs over the door and has large wooden picnic tables and benches. Many of them have seating outside in courtyard gardens….usually, they have a wonderful view. Visitors seat themselves and order their wine at the table from a passing server. After a few glasses of wine, visitors then head up to buffet counter to get their food and bring it back to the table. Potato salads, pickled vegetables and smoked meats account for most of the tasty offerings at the counter, but they will make you a fresh schnitzel or fried chicken.


One of my favorite wines to order is Zweigelt. It comes from the red wine territory of Burgenland in eastern Austria, south of Vienna and along the border with Hungary. Zweigelt is a new grape on the wine scene, developed in 1922 by Fritz Zweigelt, an Austrian scientist. Originally called rotburger, the name was changed to honor its creator.


Zweigelt reminds me a of a spicy Beaujolais and has a freshness that goes great with a wide range of foods including a traditional schnitzel, which is a meat cutlet, pounded thin, usually breaded and sautéed. It can be made with veal, pork or turkey and you can have it plain or with a variety of sauces….YUM! Another one of my favorites to pair with Zweigelt is gulasch. This is a Hungarian influenced stew that is usually so highly spiced with paprika that it makes my eyebrows sweat! Many times the stew has potatoes or noodles in it, but I like it best when it is served with a knödel, which is an Austrian bread dumpling. A tip I learned from a local Weiner, is a hangover treatment…..gulasch with a fried egg on top and served with dill pickles of the side….of course that has to be paired with a beer…..believe me it works! I've even served it to my friends in the US who have imbibed a bit too much the night before!


Wine Food Pairing requires a lot of diligence and practice…..in fact I practiced way too much last time I was in Europe and gained five pounds! Next time I go to Austria I will have to find a low cal dish to pair with my favorite Zweigelt……that is indeed, the adventure and challenge of Wine Food Pairing! CHEERS!

Denise Clarke has been passionate about wine food pairing for many years...