28 February 2022 / Sue Tolson
The month gets off to a sparkling start, or at least in a sparkling place, as the Neszmély Wine District is holding its annual grand tasting at the former Esterházy Sparkling Wine Manufactory in Tata on 4-5 March. Chat with winemakers from the Neszmély Wine Route Association and enjoy their wines in the aristocratic surroundings of the listed building built in 1772 by Jakab Fellner, one of the Hungarian Baroque’s most important artists. You’ll be able to taste around 150 wines from 30 wineries. So hop on the train to Tata, where you can also stroll around the lovely Öreg tó lake.
Staying closer to Budapest, you could head down to Budafok, Budapest’s ‘Wine Quarter’, and visit some of its renowned sparkling wine producers and wineries. On the first Saturday of each month, there is a shuttle bus service departing from Városház Square, which stops at wineries and other attractions, where you can enjoy guided cellar tours, concerts and other cultural activities.
Show If you don’t want to leave the capital, spend the evening at the Borjour Sopron Show at the Manna Lounge & Restaurant above the tunnel under the castle district. There will be over ten wineries showing their wines in the evening, so you can discover Sopron’s cool-climate wines, in particular its flagship wine Kékfrankos, without travelling all the way to Sopron, or even setting foot outside the city.
Refreshing crisp Egri Csillag is the perfect wine for spring, and the winemakers in Eger Wine District think so too, so they are organising Egri Csillag Week for the first time this year. Watch out for events, tastings and special offers at restaurants, bars and wine shops throughout the week and the country, and especially at the wineries themselves in Eger.
You can get involved with some vineyard work if you head to Erdőbenye in Tokaj on the second Saturday of the month. Join the locals for a winter party in the Palánkos vineyard at the edge of the village, where you can get your hands dirty helping with the winter pruning and then enjoy tasting the new wines of participating wineries, while keeping warm watching the pruning cuttings burn and sampling some tasty food. Prior registration and tickets at hungrygrape.hu/hellobenye
If you’ve never been to a traditional Hungarian cellar village, then you should visit Hajós on one of its ‘Cellar Saturdays’, when the local cellars throw upon their doors from 2-10 pm. You can stroll along the atmospheric cellar rows and enjoy local wines, homemade treats and the famed hospitality of the Hajós inhabitants.
Lovers of Hungary’s favourite black grape really have to head to the southern part of the Szekszárd Wine District and take part in the Kékfrankos ‘Toros’ Wine Tour, where three wineries (Bodri Winery, Takler Wine Estate and Fritz Winery) will each host two guest wineries. A great way to get some spring exercise, by hiking from winery to winery, while also discovering the great diversity of one of the wine district’s emblematic varieties.
Enjoy a ‘wine stroll’ in the Cifra Palace in the heart of Kecskemét, where 22 winemakers will be pouring over 100 wines from all around Hungary for you to sample. There’ll also be a special Champagne corner and a palinka corner as well as guest country Austria. Tickets in person from DiVino wine bar in Kecskemét.
Enjoy a spring hike around the Badacsony region during one of its Gastro Hill events. You can discover Badacsony and its wines by taking a self-designed ‘gastro’ walking tour around the hill. Ten restaurants and wineries will keep you sustained with tasty dishes, in tasting portions, of course, so that you can try a few! And if you get tired, or sample too much delicious food and drink, then watch out for the gastro buses.
And don’t forget the Winelovers Grand tasting in the grandiose Corinthia Hotel in Budapest, with more than 700 different wines available to sample from over 150 exhibiting Hungarian wineries, as well as 100 international wines in a separate space. There will also be pop up presentations and masterclasses throughout the day. Make sure you secure your tickets at Winelovers - Jegyvásárlás (wineloversrendezvenyek.hu)
And finally, wine professionals should not miss this three-day event at the HUNGEXPO in Budapest, where you can meet the winemakers during the walkaround around tasting, as well as participate in six masterclasses, including on Kékfrankos, Olaszrizling, Furmint and Bikavér. Registration at Registration - Hungarian Wine Business (hungarianwinesummit.com).
As in every other month in Budapest, there are also numerous evening tastings throughout the month to watch out for, where you can enjoy a flight of wines and often meet the winemaker too. For example, you can try some Balatonfüred-Csopak wines from the Strommer Winery at Fill the Winebox on 1 March, taste wines from the Kristinus Wine Estate at VinoPiano on 9 March or spend the evening at Kóstolom wine bar on 10 March with owner and winemaker of Fekete Winery, one of Somló’s iconic wineries. Zengő in the eighth district hosts TR Tállya Tokaj on 10 March and Jammertal Wine Estate from Villány on 18 March, while you could also enjoy some jazz and a walkaround tasting of five wineries at the same place on 23 March, organised by Cult in Glass. And make sure you also keep your eye on Wines of Hungary’s events page, as new events are added all the time!
