Hungarian wine has a history dating back to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. Outside Hungary, the best-known wines are the white

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

Tokaji Tokaji ( ) or Tokay is a rich, sweet wine originating in the Tokaj wine region (also ''Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region'' or ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'') in Hungary. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wi ...

aszú (particularly in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) and the red wine Bull's Blood of Eger ( Egri Bikavér).

Etymology

Only three European languages have words for

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

that are not derived from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

, and Hungarian.Miklós Molnár
A concise history of Hungary
Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 12. The Hungarian word for wine
"bor"
is ultimately of

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

origin.

History

The Romans brought vines to

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

, and by the 5th century AD, there are records of extensive vineyards in what is now Hungary. The

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

brought their wine-making knowledge from the East. According to Ibn Rustah, the Hungarian tribes were familiar with wine-making a long time before the

Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, also known as the Hungarian conquest or the Hungarian land-taking (), was a series of historical events ending with the settlement of the Hungarians in Central Europe in the late 9th and early 10t ...

. Over the following centuries, new grape varieties were brought in from Italy and France. Most of the production was of white wine in that period. During the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, an ancient variety of grapes was used to make the robust red-wine blend later known as Bikavér (Bull's Blood), after a supposed secret ingredient in the wine that fortified the defenders of Eger in 1552. It was also during the Turkish occupation that the Tokaj region became known for dessert wines, harvested late to encourage

noble rot Noble rot (; ; ; ) is the beneficial form of a grey fungus, ''Botrytis cinerea'', affecting wine grapes. Infestation by ''Botrytis'' requires warm and humid conditions, typically around 20 degrees Celsius and above 80% humidity. If the weather ...

. Tokaji aszú is mentioned in a document of 1571, and it was famously christened by

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

(1638-1715) "Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum" – Wine of Kings, King of Wines. After the Ottoman Empire ceded Hungary to the Austrians in 1699, the Germanic influence was felt with the introduction of grape varieties such as Blauer Portugieser. That influence also showed in the start in 1730 of the world's first vineyard

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

in Tokaj, based on soil, aspect and propensity to

. From 1882, the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

epidemic hit Hungary hard, with the traditional field blends of Eger and the many grapes of Tokaj being replaced with monocultures, often of

Blaufränkisch Blaufränkisch (; German language, German for ''blue Frankish grapes, Frankish'') is a dark-skinned list of grape varieties, variety of grape used for red wine. and California wine, California, DNA profiling has shown that Blaufränkisch is a c ...

(Kékfrankos) and the Bordeaux varieties in red wine districts, and of

Furmint Furmint (also known as Mainak) is a white Hungarian wine grape variety that is most noted widely grown in the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region where it is used to produce single-varietal dry wines as well as being the principal grape in the better ...

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

and

Hárslevelű Hárslevelű (in Hungarian), also called ''Lipovina'' (in Slovak), ''Frunza de tei'' (in Romanian), ''Lindenblättriger'' (in German) and ''Feuille de Tilleul'' (in French) is a grape variety from the Pontian Balcanica branch of ''Vitis vin ...

in Tokaj. The 20th century saw the introduction of modern grapes such as

Zweigelt The Zweigelt (), also known as Rotburger, is an Austrian hybrid grape variety created in 1922 by Friedrich Zweigelt (1888–1964), who later became Director of the Federal Institute and Experimental Station of Viticulture, Fruit Production and ...

, which were easier to grow and to vinify than Kadarka. Under Communism quality was neglected in favour of overcropping, pasteurisation, and industrial production. Since 1989, there has been renewed interest in the traditional varieties and much new investment, particularly in

Tokaj-Hegyalja Tokaj wine region ( ) or Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region (short ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'' or ''Hegyalja'') is a historical wine region located in northeastern Hungary and southeastern Slovakia. It is also one of the seven larger wine regions of Hungary ...

Wine regions and styles

The official list of wine regions is defined by a ministerial decree. The current list includes 22 wine regions, which are usually grouped into five to seven larger regions.

Balaton, with sub-regions

* Badacsony: volcanic soils, full-bodied whites with considerable acidity. One of the few sources of Kéknyelű grapes. * Balatonboglár: full-bodied whites and reds with moderate acidity. * Balaton-felvidék: volcanic soils, full-bodied whites with considerable acidity. * Balatonfüred-Csopak: terra rossa soils, full-bodied whites with considerable acidity. * Nagy-Somló (or

Somló image:somlohegy.jpg, 250px, Somló Hill, Hungary Somló (German language, German: ''Schomlau'', the corresponding adjective, meaning ''of Somló'' as in ''wines of Somló'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian is: ''somlói'') is an 832 hectare wine re ...

): volcanic soil, full-bodied whites with high acidity. Main varieties are:

Olaszrizling Welschriesling is a white wine grape variety, unrelated to the Rhine Riesling, that is grown throughout Central Europe. Origin The descendance of Welschriesling is uncertain. The German name ''Welschriesling'' literally means ' Romanic Rieslin ...

and

. * Zala: mainly white wines. The main variety of the region is

Duna, with sub-regions

Csongrád Csongrád (; , archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd,'' ) is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary. History At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the Maros Valley was under Bulgarian control. The fortre ...

, * Hajós-Baja, *

Kunság Kunság (; ), later also known as Jászkunság or Jászkun kerület (lit. "Jassic–Cuman District"), is a historical, ethnographic and geographical region in Hungary, corresponding to a former political entity created by and for the Cumans or Ku ...

. Mainly fresh and light wines from many varieties. Vineyard near Szurdokpuspoki

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...
, with sub-regions

Bükk The Bükk Mountains () are a section of the North Hungarian Mountains of the Inner Western Carpathians. Much of the area is included in the Bükk National Park. Geography Although Kékes, the highest point in Hungary, is not here but in t ...

: mainly white wines. *

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

: fresh whites from Leányka and Királyleányka, full-bodied whites mainly from

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

. Home of the Egri Bikavér (bulls blood of Eger), an elegant red blend, mainly based on Kékfrankos. Good

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

s. *

Mátra The Mátra () is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető (1014 m), belongs to this mountain range. Formation Pre-volcanic formations The formation of the Mátra ...

: elegant and full-bodied whites, grown on volcanic soil. Main varieties are

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau () is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Made ...

and

Észak-Dunántúl, with sub-regions

Neszmély Neszmély () is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. Albert the Magnanimous, the first Habsburg King of Hungary and eventual King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following h ...

: fresh and aromatic whites. * Etyek-Buda: fresh white wines, with considerable acidity. *

Mór Mór () is a town in Fejér County, Hungary. Among the smaller towns in the Central Transdanubia Region of Hungary, it lies between the Vértes Mountains, Vértes and Bakony Hills, in the northwestern corner of Fejér County. The historic roots ...

: volcanic soil, full-bodied whites. Main variety: Ezerjó. *

Pannonhalma Pannonhalma (; ), called Győrszentmárton until 1965, is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron county in western Hungary. With a little under 4,000 inhabitants, it is about south-southeast of Győr. Pannonhalma is home to the oldest extant religious and ...

: full-bodied whites. *

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

: elegant reds (mainly Kékfrankos).

Pannon, with sub-regions

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

: mainly whites. Traditional variety: Cirfandli *

Szekszárd Szekszárd (, formerly also ''Szegzárd''; ; or ; ) is a small city in southern Hungary and the capital of Tolna County. By population, Szekszárd is the smallest county capital in Hungary; by area, it is the second-smallest (after Tatabánya). ...

: full-bodied reds, with a bit of spice. Famous wine: Szekszárdi Bikavér. Main varieties: Kadarka, Kékfrankos,

Cabernet franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

* Tolna *

Villány Villány (; , or ; Živko Mandić: Hrvatska imena naseljenih mjesta u Madžarskoj, ) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary that is famous for its wine. Residents are Hungarians, with minority of Croats, Serbs and Germans of Hungary. Until t ...

: robust, full-bodied, spicy reds. Main varieties: Blauer Portugieser, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and occasionally Pinot Noir.

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...
, with sub-regions

Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area ...

Hungary's most famous wine region lies in the foothills of the Zemplén Mountains of the far north of the country; in fact the traditional area crosses into the southeast corner of modern Slovakia. The area is notable for its long warm autumns and mists that come in from the River

Bodrog The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary of the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplín in eastern Slovakia. It crosses the Slovak–Hu ...

, creating perfect conditions for

. This can contribute towards creating the botrytised (''aszú'') grapes for which the region is famous. These are individually picked as late as mid-November into buckets (''puttonyos'') and crushed to a paste. Varying amounts of this ''aszú'' paste are then added to non-''aszú''

must Must is freshly crushed Juice, fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must ...

or wine made from a mix of

Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains () is a white wine grape of Greek origin that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters. It is known under a variety of loca ...

, Kövérszőlő or

Zéta Zéta is a Hungarian wine grape, a crossing of Furmint and Bouvier. It was introduced to the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region of Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian ...

grapes, and left to ferment. The resulting wine is then aged in relatively small barrels in a labyrinth of cellars in the soft volcanic

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

, on whose walls thick blankets of fungus regulate the humidity.Atkin, Tim (2001
Tradition and Innovation in the Tokaj Region
Dissertation for Master of Wine. Given that ''aszú'' conditions only happen in perhaps three vintages per decade, much dry Furmint is also produced. Other grapes grown in the area include Hárslevelű, Muscat Blanc, Kövérszőlő and Zéta. For centuries the main product of the area was the sweet wine, mainly the botrytised selections. The dry Furmint drew the attention of the world's wine connoisseurs and experts when the Úrágya 2000 single vineyard selection was introduced by István Szepsy. The wine expressed great minerality, complexity and structure, which has been experienced only in the finest white wines of historic regions like Burgundy or the Mosel before. The aging potential was also promising. In 2003 more producers of Mád village produced single vineyard selected dry Furmint wines with great success. Mád village, with its almost 1200 ha, had the opportunity to produce high quality dry Furmint wine in significant quantity as a commune level wine, which can express the unique volcanic

terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...

of the region, this wine is named after its appellation Mád and produced by István Szepsy Jr. in the Szent Tamás Winery.

Hungarian grape varieties

Several varieties of grape are known to have originated in Hungary. These are: * Ezerjó *

* Irsai Oliver * Cserszegi fűszeres * Királyleányka * Zenit Other varieties of grape that may have originated in Hungary include: *

* Juhfark * Kéknyelű * Kadarka

References

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev on Hungarian Wine

External links

Wine Reviews
- Independent wine blog

- Rebbe Nachman of Breslev story about Hungarian Wine {{Authority control Hungarian drinks Agriculture in Hungary Wineries of Hungary Wine by country