Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HUNGARIAN WINE
Hungary's
wines
havecomealongwayinrecentyears,thoughtheyarestillunder-appreci-
ated in the global market. In general, the country's climate favours whites, especially crisp
and floral varieties, but its reds are also delicious and offer more complexity and variation.
Many of the grape varieties used in Hungarian wines will be familiar, even if their Hun-
garian names are less so, but there are also some indigenous grapes that are worth trying.
Among
reds
, alongside the well-known Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and oth-
ers, the Kadarka yields a light, spicy, cherry-coloured wine that has undergone a revival in
the past decade. It is a common ingredient in
Bikavér
, the well-known Hungarian
Bull's
Blood wine
from Eger and Szekszárd. Alongside the familiar
whites
of Sauvignon Blanc
and Olaszrizling (Italian Riesling) are Irsai Olivér, which produces a floral, aromatic wine,
and Cserszegi Fűszeres, which has a slightly smoother, spicier flavour, as well as the crisp
dry Furmint and Hárslevelű (lime or linden leaf), which produce some of Hungary's finest
bottles in Tokaj and Somló. Another grape found in Somló is Júhfark, “sheep's tail”, said
to have desirable results if drunk on your wedding night. Hungary's
rosés
have improved
markedly in recent years, benefiting from a good balance of fruit without being too sweet.
Although Hungary has twenty-two official wine regions, the best producers are concen-
trated in a few areas. Alongside the big established vintners, it is the smaller cellars (
pince
)
that are producing the most exciting wines. Below is a brief introduction to the main re-
gions and some of the best labels ( ) to look out for.
Lake Balaton
to the southwest of Budapest has five different regions where whites dom-
inate. Huba Szeremley, Jásdi, Otto Légli and Mihály Figula.
Eger
is one of the big wine regions, in the north. Vilmos Thummerer, St. Andrea, Nim-
ród Kovács, Bolyki and Tamas Pók. One to avoid: Egri Csillag, a lame marketing attempt
to produce a white version of the famed Bikavér.
Etyek-Buda
isasmaller regionthat producesmainly white wines.Itisperhapsbestknown
for its sparkling wines in the Budafok cellars. Etyek, lying 30km west of Budapest, has
some excellent wines andiseasy tovisit. Fourtimes ayear crowdsflock outtoits wine and
food festival(
Wetyekipiknik.hu
).
Törley (for sparkling), Etyeki Kúria and Nyakas
Pince.
Szekszárd
is strong on reds, especially Kadarka. Ferenc Vesztergombi, Takler, Tamás
Dúzsi, Péter Vida, Németh János, Zoltán Heimann, and Adrian Bösz.
Somló
is the smallest region, based around a hill west of Balaton whose volcanic soil pro-
duces fascinating results, just as it does around Tokaj; this is a crisp yet rich wine with
