Hungary doesn’t even have a shelf in most wine stores around the world. If you search for it, you can usually find a sweet white wine from the Tokaj region or a drinkable red blended wine from the Eger region because of its catchy name “Bull’s Blood”. And that’s a shame.
In Hungary, there are a lot of wine stores and a lot of wine drinkers. Your typical bar has dozens of bottles of wine and 2 beers on draft. In their wine stores, there is only a small section of international wines, and sections devoted to each of the 22 official wine regions of Hungary.
There are a few reasons for this imbalance:
- Price – Hungarian wines are a great value.
- Quantity – There are a lot of wine regions and a small export market.
- Variety – They grow an incredibly diverse array of varietals in a great variety of terroirs.
- Quality – The combination of the soil, weather, and vintners makes an excellent wine.
Without further ado, here are our top 5 varietals to seek out. After 2 months of research, we consider ourselves fairly well-schooled.
- Irsai Oliver – A dry white wine usually served young and crisp which contains the mineral flavors you expect from a Sauvignon Blanc with a touch of sweetness from its distant cousin Muscat.
- Olaszrizling – A full-bodied white wine usually oaked. It’s nutty and savory and definitely not to be confused with a class Riesling.
- Muscat Lunel – An incredibly perfurmed white wine with complex tastes of spices, fruits, and flowers. Adam’s favorite.
- Kadarka – A spicy red wine that’s low in tannins. Also the name of a great wine bar in Budapest.
- Portugieser – Formerly known as Kekoporto in Hungary before the EU’s stranglehold. A delicious bright, light, and fruity red.
Of course, they also grow many traditional and internationally known grapes in Hungary. We were especially fond of their Cabernet Sauvignons. Between the grapes, regions, vintners, and vintages, you could easily try a new (and delicious) wine every day for a year. Enjoy.
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