Pécs PDO – A Guide to the Wine Region

Pécs is one of Hungary’s warmest growing areas. It is a lively university town with a lovely city center, and one of the country’s foremost research institutes for viticulture and oenology.

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Sopron PDO – A Guide to the Wine Region

Sopron sits just across the border from Austria, sharing its viticultural traditions with Burgenland. Kékfrankos is the main grape variety of both regions.

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Baltonfüred-Csopak PDO – A Guide to the Wine Region

Balatonfüred-Csopak is Lake Balaton’s—and Hungary’s—Olaszrizling hotspot. The region boasts some of the country’s best Olaszrizling, and an independent trademark protection system guaranteeing quality…

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Eger PDO: A Guide to the Wine Region

Eger is one of Hungary’s most renowned historical wine regions. It’s known for its blends and is synonymous with Egri Bikavér.

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Szekszárd PDO: A Guide to the Wine Region

Look south to Szekszárd for some of Hungary’s most elegant and spicy red wines. It’s one of the strongholds of Kékfrankos, Kadarka, the Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) blend.

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Villány PDO: A Guide to the Wine Region

Villány is the home of big bold reds, which are generally based on the Bordeaux varieties of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. One of Hungary’s most popular red wine regions, it boasts s…

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Kál Basin (Káli Medence) PDO: A Guide to the Wine Region

The eight settlements in the Kál Basin also fall within the boundaries of three other wine regions, but due to its unique volcanic landscape and historical relevance, it has boasted its own 453-hectar…

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Nagy Somló PDO: A Guide to the Wine Region

Somló is one of Hungary’s emblematic historical wine regions. Its unique, mineral-rich terroir, indigenous varieties and numerous small producers make it one of Hungary’s most exciting white-wine regi…

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Badacsony PDO: A Guide to the Wine Region

Badacsony is one of Hungary’s iconic regions. Along with Tokaj and Somló, it was famed for its characterful, full-bodied, minerally, white wines from volcanic soil. The wines are unique, concentrated,…

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Lake Balaton PGI: A Guide to the Wine Region

Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, is landlocked Hungary’s sea. It is not only a favorite destination for vacationers, but a robust wine region comprises six districts with Protected De…

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Ezerjó: The Hungarian Wine of a Thousand Blessings

The countryside to the north of Székesfehérvár and Lake Velence hides a small wine region little known outside Hungary. What’s more, this undiscovered region conceals a white variety that few will hav…

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Sparkling Hungary, Where the Pezsgő Flows

At the beginning of the 20th century Hungary was second only to France in sparkling wine production … Happily, the last few decades have seen great advances in Hungarian sparkling wine, and many win…

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Kéknyelű: A Hungarian Grape Returning from the Brink

Production remains limited, but once you’ve tasted Kéknyelű, you’ll understand why it was such a popular and expensive wine in its heyday. Kéknyelű’s high acidity, relative neutrality and serious extr…

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Hárslevelű –A Wine Doomed To Eternally Play A Supporting Role?

Hárslevelű has been around for centuries and is planted across much of Hungary—notably in Tokaj and the tiny region of Somló. Despite its many good qualities, it seems destined to play a supporting ro…

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Austrians in Hungary

Hungarian and Austrian history has been so intertwined, for better or for worse, over four centuries. So it’s inevitable that some grape varieties have also crossed today’s borders, and have comfortab…

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Királyleányka and Leányka—Hungary’s  Maiden Grapes

Hungary boasts two related white varieties which are often confused, and have unclear origins. Királyléanyka, which translates as ’princess’ and Leányka, which means ’maiden’ or ’girl’.

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Furmint – Hungary’s Flagship White

Wine aficionados have long known of the delights of Furmint, especially in the form of the delectably sweet Tokaji Aszú, and increasingly over the last decade or two in its latest dry incarnations.

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Portugieser – A Fresh and Fruity Hungarian Red

In Hungary, Portugieser has made its home in Villány, but is also found in the Kunság and Eger. It’s an early-ripening variety with thin skins. Its soft tannins and pronounced fruit aromas mean it doe…

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Unpronounceably Aromatic Hungarian Wines – Cserszegi Fűszeres and Irsai Olivér

Two 20th century Hungarian white crossings have proved remarkably popular in the last few decades—Irsai Olivér and its offspring, Cserszegi Fűszeres, dubbed the unpronounceable grape by one British Ma…

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Egri Csillag – The Starry-Eyed Partner to the Majestic Bull’s Blood from Eger

Eger has long been known for its blends, principally red Bikavér (aka Bull’s Blood). Since 2010, the region also has a white blend, Egri Csillag. Both are named after historic events in the region.

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Tokaji Essencia – Sunshine on a Spoon

Imagine a supernaturally concentrated Aszú with flavors of ripe peach, orange, white flowers, passion fruit, ginger, quince, apricot, and spicy marmalade. It’s thick and syrupy with razor-sharp acidit…

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Szamorodni – The Wine Hiding in The Wings in Tokaj

It’s strange to think that wines that can be compared to lusciously sweet Sauternes or nutty, saline sherries should not be the flagship wines of a region. Yet, that is the case in Tokaj. Szamorodni i…

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Cabernet Franc – The Unsung Hero

Winemakers in the south of Hungary, however, are taking Cabernet Franc very seriously. In fact, the region of Villány is now betting on the variety as their regional flagship.

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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…

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Juhfark: A Pharmacy in a Wine Glass

Juhfark is a little-known Hungarian grape variety that is attributed with extraordinary abilities.

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Kadarka – Hungary’s Answer to Pinot Noir?

Vibrant and elegant or rustic and insipid? Little-known Kadarka certainly divides opinions when tasted for the first time, with those who love it praising its crunchy, bright red fruit and refreshing …

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Olaszrizling—a Riesling in name only

Olaszrizling, Hungary’s most widely planted white grape variety, is an archetypical Central European variety which is capable of for more than it’s usually given credit for.

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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.

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