Kékfrankos, Blaufränkisch, Burgund Mare, Modra Frankinja, Lemberger and Franconia are the names under which 87 wineries from 32 regions in seven countries presented wines made aut of the most important Central European black variety at the VieVinum 2026 exhibition in Vienna's Hofburg Palace. United Nations auf Blaufränkisch is the official name of this part of VieVinum, and from May 16 to 18, wine lovers could enjoy 103 wines from Hungary, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Romania.
In times of climate change, Franconias are emerging as modern, mature and structured wines, but never heavy, said Dorli Muhr, one of the initiators of the gathering. She owns a winery in Prellenkirchen in Lower Austria, a wine-growing region north of Vienna, and 90 percent of the wine she makes is from Blaufränkisch.
The wines are elegant, with rich aromas and pronounced freshness. The United Nations of Blaufränkisch was deliberately not intended as a competition. The focus was not on one country, one region or one variety name, but on the common message that Central Europe has a world-class red variety, Muhr explained.
There was no Croatian Frankovkas or Borgonjas, as it is called in Istria, in Vienna. In terms of planted areas, it is ninth on the list of the most common varieties in our vineyards, but it is as if we are ashamed of it. That we have something to brag about was shown by a recent vertical tasting of the 2019, 2018, 2008, 2006 and 2003 Franconian wines from Feričanci. Read the story of the young twenty-year-old here.