Tokaji Aszú: The Story of The World’s Oldest Sweet Wine
A bottle of Tokaji aszú holds deep history, fascinating myths, much hard work, centuries of passion, and plenty of sheer luck.
Kékfrankos: A Much-Loved Grape of Many Names
Kékfrankos is planted in most Hungarian wine regions, and goes by many different names. When well made, the variety—with its crunchy red and black cherry fruit and spicy kick—is generally a crowd-plea...
Juhfark: A Pharmacy in a Wine Glass
Juhfark is a little-known Hungarian grape variety that is attributed with extraordinary abilities.
Unicum: Hungarian History in a Glass
Unicum is a national institution in Hungary, and has a long history that in some ways mirrors the history of modern Hungary itself.
The Mátra Wine Region: These Hills Are Alive With Volcanic Vineyards, Boutique Cellars, and History
Hungary’s second largest winemaking region is blessed with an ancient winemaking heritage, volcanic soil, successful large wineries, and now a band of boutique wineries hoping to bring the region into...
Flódni: The Four Act Pastry
Flódni is a traditional Hungarian Jewish confection. With fillings of poppy, walnut, apple, and plum jam, separated by five layers of sweet pastry, its flavors of tart, bitter, and sweet meld together...
Bookish in Buda: Literary Cafés of Budapest
With cafés like Centrál and New York giving shelter and comfort to writers of the famous Nyugat movement of Hungarian writing, you can’t talk about a classic Hungarian café without mentioning the writ...
Land of Fire and Salt: Hungary’s Volcanic Wine Regions
Imagine a landscape with numerous giant volcanoes spewing out lava and ash and a receding, bubbling inland sea. This was Hungary ten or fifteen million years ago.
Dog Tongues and Ink: Historic Literary Coffeehouses in Budapest
If nostalgia had a taste, it would be that of a bitter, robust sip of coffee served at Centrál Café, or one of the other coffee houses in Budapest.
That’ll Do Pig: The Marvelous Rise of Mangalica
If you haven’t heard of Mangalica, don’t feel left out. The fact that there is any of it at all is a small miracle.
The Ever-Popular Old School Fröccs
When the weather gets hot in Hungary, fröccs season is on. A refreshing mixture of soda water and wine, it's the ultimate summer go-to drink.
The 1956 Tokaj Aszú: A Wine With A Long Finish
The 1956 vintage was a good one in Tokaj. But 1956 didn’t go down in the history books for the great quality of botrytis in Tokaj, rather because of the revolution that began on October 23rd.
The Lost World of The Jewish Wine Trade in Hungary (and The Old Habsburg Empire) Part I.
This story of how the Hungarian (and Central European) wine trade functioned before the two world wars and communism is not a well-known one.
The Lost World of The Jewish Wine Trade in Hungary (and The Old Habsburg Empire), Part II.
What happened before the takeover of the state-owned coops in Hungary, which lasted more than forty years (and devastated Hungarian wine)?
