2013 Winzerkeller Andau Zweigelt Burgenland 750 ml

Jean-Georges’ Skeleton Key for the Dinner Table

If you find yourself in NYC anytime soon and you’re looking to experience the finest of fine dining experiences, make a beeline for Columbus Circle. There at 1 Central Park West you’ll find Restaurant Jean-Georges. Prepare for magnificence.

This year’s Wine Spectator Grand Award winner. 4 stars from The New York Times. 3 Michelin stars. A fixture on San Pellegrino’s Top 100 list. Twenty years since the opening service and this world-renowned restaurant has only grown in stature and global appreciation.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten was born and raised in Strasbourg in the heart of Alsatian wine country. Alsace boasts more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other region in France. Jean-Georges toiled for many years at the finest restaurants in the area before setting sail for New York City and ultimately opening his namesake restaurant at 1 Central Park West.

Today, Jean Georges is not only a staple of the New York culinary scene, but also of the global fine-dining firmament. It is known the world over for its beautiful setting, its fine cuisine, and its deep wine program shepherded by Wine Director Eric Hastings. Naturally, the wine list is built on a foundation of the greatest French wines ever made. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Château Latour, and Krug can be found in multiple vintages within the list. But the finest of France are not the only fixtures on Hastings’ unparalleled wine list.

One in particular has been poured by the glass at Jean Georges for nearly three years. THREE YEARS. A wine poured by the glass for nearly three years at one of the greatest restaurants in the world is practically unheard of. Surely, one would think that it’s a wine that pretty much sells itself. Like Dom Pérignon Champagne for the matinee opera crowd, or a crackling Sancerre that’s perfect for the terrasse for the summer months. No, it’s none of these wines. It’s a wine that you’ve probably never heard of: Zweigelt from Burgenland, Austria.

Zweigelt is a fun, lip-smacking, exciting variety that is Austria’s national red grape. It’s fresh, graceful, and fantastic for food pairing. If you can imagine a lower-alcohol version of Côtes du Rhone or an exotically spiced Beaujolais, then you have an idea of what Zweigelt tastes like.

Eric Hastings has kept it on the list for nearly three years because it fits its role as a versatile red wine workhorse. When a couple comes in for a medium-bodied glass of red that won’t stain their teeth: Zweigelt. When a table wants a wine to pair with their Dover sole but it has to be red: Zweigelt. When a table of four consists of a vegetarian, pescatarian, carnivore, and herbivore and wants a red to bridge the wide chasm between all the dishes: again, Zweigelt.

It’s a skeleton key for the dinner table, where it opens up every door for successful food pairing. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, now is the time to stock your cellar with Jean-Georges’ go-to red wine for all occasions.

Today and today only, $14.50. Come taste why one of the greatest restaurants in the world is zealous for Zweigelt.