Früg
Take Me To Your Liter
J&F Collab
Quick facts:
Location: Tadten, Burgenland, Austria
Owner & winemaker: Josef & Pia Wurzinger
Vineyards: 25 hectares across 13 different sites, certified organic (since 2014)
Soils: gravel, chalk, sandy clay
Main varieties: Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt
Winemaking: spontaneous fermentation, aging in tanks, no filter, no fining.
Fun facts:
- The wines are all bottled in 1-liter bottles, a kind of traditional packaging for everyday drinking wines in the area. The extra 250ml comes in handy when you have wine this gluggable..
- Gruner Veltliner, a traditional variety that has become almost synonymous with Austrian white wine, has been present in the country since some time around 1550 and nowadays is its most widely planted grape
- Frug (pronounced “froog”) is a shake-your-hips kind of dance popular in the 1960s, lively like good natural wine.
Jump to wines | Wurzinger Website
Frug is a new exciting addition to Jenny&Francois’ labels – wines that come from an exclusive coop between us and carefully selected winemakers. It’s our great joy to bring you wines that are kind to both nature and your budget, and in the case of these easy-drinking Austrians, this friendly concept is emphasized even more by the packaging – a plump 1-liter bottle! That extra quarter of a liter comes in handy (you’ll see) and follows the Central-European tradition of bottling everyday drinking wines in this volume. (Milan Nestarec‘s Běl and Nach are other great examples of this.)
The Wurzinger winery lies in the south-eastern part of Burgenland, almost at the border with Hungary, and was established by the current owner’s grandfather. Josef took it over from his parents in 1991, gradually changing the vineyard management to organic before obtaining the certification in 2014. “Making the shift happen over many years was particularly important to us since we wanted to give our vines time to adapt and maintain the quality and fruitiness of our wines,” as Josef explains why the switch took some time.
The winery focuses on typical Austrian grapes – Gruner Veltliner, a traditional variety that has become almost synonymous with Austrian white wine, present in the country since some time around 1550 and nowadays its most widely planted grape; and Zweigelt for the rosé and red, a (relatively) new but similarly Austria-typical cross of St. Laurent and Blaufrankisch, bred by a local viticulturalist of the same name in 1922.
The name Frug comes from a 1960s dance, which is very shake-your-hips and vibrant like the wine itself, fitting also with the colorful label designed by our Jenny Lefcourt’s brother in cooperation and her husband. It was coined by Toni Silver, an artist and Austrian wine promoter who also connected us with the winery: “My brain always bounces around from the present back to the mid-20th century, as I am a retro kind of gal, so I just started thinking of party-drinking-dancing and started to remember some of the crazy 60’s dances – the Twist, Mashed Potato, the Frug!” Well, there you go: we bet this Austrian liter trio will make you dance as well.
Früg Gruner Veltliner — Back to the top
Grapes: Gruner Veltliner
Vineyard: several different sites, all certified organic. Mainly gravel, chalk, sandy clay
Making of: spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel, including malolactic. The wine then spent 10 weeks on its fine lees. Bottled without filtration or fining, with a 15ppm sulfur addition.
Personality: highly drinkable! Varietal aromas of peaches, apricots, apples, meadow flowers, and a little herbal touch in the finish, lifted by a pleasant acidity. Perfect with almost anything; for a real Austria-style match, treat yourself to some good asparagus when in season…
Früg Rosé — Back to the top
Grape: Zweigelt
Vineyard: several different sites, all certified organic. Mainly gravel, chalk, sandy clay
Making of: spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel, including malolactic. The wine then spent 10 weeks on its fine lees. Bottled without filtration or fining, with a 15ppm sulfur addition.
Personality: succulent Central-European rosé with pleasant acidity and playful red berries
Früg Zweigelt — Back to the top
Grape: Zweigelt
Vineyard: several different sites, all certified organic. Mainly gravel, chalk, sandy clay
Making of: spontaneous fermentation in tanks. The wine then spent 10 weeks on its fine lees. Bottled without filtration or fining, with a 25ppm sulfur addition.
Personality: fruity red with plenty of plums, cherries, figs, a spicy touch, pleasant round mouthfeel and good acidity – very sippable!
Früg Orange — Back to the top
Grape: 70% Grüner Veltliner, 30% Roter Traminer
Vineyard: blend of several vineyards in Tadten, mainly gravel, minerally and chalky, some with sandy clay and gravel. All certified organic.
Making of: spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel, 70% destemmed and 30% whole cluster, for 8 days without crushing. The free-run juice goes through malolactic fermentation and rests for 4 months on its lees in stainless steel tanks. Bottled without filtration or fining, with a little sulfur addition.
Personality: apples and peaches, a hint of roses from the Traminer. Good structure and body, a pleasant balance between fruit and minerality.