Beyond Aszú: Telling the Full Story of Hungarian Wine

Jamie Goode, a scientist turned wine writer and founder of Wineanorak, has long explored the fringes of the wine world. Ahead of BOR 2025, he explains why Hungary is on his radar, why native grapes such as Hárslevelű and Kékfrankos could become breakout stars, and which global trends Hungarian producers cannot afford to ignore.

Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency: You founded Wineanorak in 1999—how has your perspective on emerging regions like Hungary evolved over the decades?

Jamie Goode: I've always been curious about less well known wine regions. Hungary has an amazing set of terroirs and a good array of grape varieties to interpret them with. For largely historical reasons we've only had glimpses of the heights Hungarian wine is capable of. I've spent a lot of time in countries outside the classic wine-producing nations of France, Italy and Spain, focusing strongly on Canada, South Africa, Portugal, Japan and New Zealand, and I'm always keen to follow wine countries where there's change and improvement taking place.

HWMA: Given your experience of breaking down technical wine concepts for a general audience, which Hungarian grape variety or style do you think should be explained more clearly, and why?

J G.: I think that Hárslevelű, Kékfrankos and Kadarka are really interesting. The first makes amazing whites with texture and interest, and the latter two are capable of making elegant, expressive red wines. I think they are unfamiliar names and they need greater visibility. Furmint has already achieved this to a degree. Now we need to help a wider audience see that there's more to Hungarian wine than Tokaji Aszú and Furmint.

HWMA: What are your key expectations from BOR 2025?

J G.: I'm coming to learn and discover. I want to taste widely and find some interesting wines that I can then share with my tribe.

HWMA: As you attend the Hungarian Wine Summit, are there certain wine styles or categories you're specifically seeking out—and why?

J G.: Lighter-style red wines, mineral and salty whites, low-intervention terroir expressive wines. Wines that are living and have some energy to them. Wines with personality and a difference.

HWMA: Are there any global wine trends you think Hungarian winemakers should pay close attention to—either as inspiration or opportunity?

J G.: I think that the low-intervention/natural channel is very interesting for sales. People are a lot more open minded in this segment of the market. There's a lot of attention on terroir-expressive wines of moderate alcohol, with real personality - and I think Hungary has an opportunity here. I think producers have to be quite intentional about the sales channel which they plan to use, and then make sure their wines are suited to this. Packaging, including labelling, is so important when you are focusing on export markets, and it's the easiest thing to get right.