15 May 2025 / Sue Tolson
The variety’s name is also somewhat problematic, suggesting that it is a kind of inferior Riesling, although it is not related to the noble German variety at all. Widely planted across the whole of Central Europe, this Carpathian Basin variety boasts numerous names promoting this idea – Welschriesling, Riesling Italico, Laški Rizling, Rizling Italyanski and Rizling Vlašský. Only the Serbs and Croats buck this trend, calling it Grašac and Graševina respectively. Incidentally, Croatia boasts the most Graševina, with over 4,000 hectares, with the variety listed under this name in wine varieties bible ‘Wine Grapes’.
Carpathian Basin
However, given its wide plantings of the variety, Hungary also considers Olaszrizling its own - it can be found practically everywhere except Tokaj. It’s the Balaton’s wine, which probably didn’t help its image in the past. It was the typical fröccs wine, drunk in large quantities by holidaymakers uninterested in quality. I have memories - and not necessarily the best ones - of it being the cheapest wine on tap in bars and restaurants both there and in Budapest. However, the variety is capable of far more and this is now becoming evident. In the right hands and with the right winemaking, Olaszrizling can not only produce everyday wines but also rich, terroir-driven wines. Just like Furmint, it is a good reflector of terroir and can produce some stunning single vineyard wines, something first exploited on the northern shore of the Balaton in Olaszrizling’s spiritual home Csopak with the establishment of the Csopak Codex in 2012. Tasting some single vineyard Olaszrizlings from what is now the Csopak PDO was the first time I saw that Olaszrizling could produce some delicious, textured fine wines, which reflected their origin.
Subsequently, the entire Balaton got in on the act, with wineries all around the Balaton acknowledging Olaszrizling as their grape. The Balaton Circle established Vinea Balaton and created the community brand BalatonBor which aimed to produce consistently good quality easy-drinking Olaszrizling. The communal label is a guarantee of good quality wine. Buy a BalatonBor and you know you’ll get a good fruity white wine meeting certain quality criteria. Buy a Hegy Bor – a wine from a single historic winemaking ‘hill’ such as Badacsony - and you’d get a fuller bodied wine with some oak influence and slightly more terroir characteristics. Upgrade to a single vineyard wine and you’ll be assured of a seriously sophisticated terroir-driven wine. I even ended up writing my Weinakademiker thesis on the Balaton and its quality initiatives with Olaszrizling. Me, the Olaszrizling hater. Me, who would never willingly have chosen to drink Olaszrizling previously. Renowned Polish wine writer and GROW judge Tomasz Prange-Barczynski recalls that “until 20 years ago, it produced wines that were watery and lacking in character,” but agrees that “today, cultivated from Moravia to Olaszrizling, it sparkles with a variety of styles” and “is a symbol of Central Europe”.
Olaszrizling today is a different beast to those wines we both recall from 20 years ago. It is a truly versatile grape that can produce light wines with crisp acidity for casual summer drinking, but with careful winemaking on the right terroir, it can come into its own. The basalt volcanic soils of Somló and Badacsony, for example, yield serious terroir-driven, mineral wines with great depth. Jancisrobinson.com writer Tamlyn Currin believes that “when grown and made with care, it is a gorgeous, spicy, Chenin-like variety which can take or leave oak, can be made bone dry or with a soupcon of sweetness, loves spontaneous fermentation, evolves with age and has its own personality.” She thinks that “it’s a very exciting option for the table and for sommeliers who are clear-sighted enough to break down barriers around it.”
Certainly, it has proved necessary to break down barriers, and not only in Hungary. An international Graševina-Olaszrizling-Welschriesling competition, GROW du Monde, the brainchild of three wine writers - Hungarian Zoltán Győrffy, Croatian Saša Špiranec and Serbian Igor Luković – was officially inaugurated four years ago in Novi Sad, Serbia, following a more informal, smaller competition in Mecseknádasd the previous year. An example of true cross-border cooperation, it has now also been hosted by Kutjevo in Croatia and Balatonfüred and will return to Serbia this June. Having been a jury member each year since the start, I can see that the competition is a true showcase of the variety’s versatility and increasingly evident quality and ageworthiness, with categories for young wines, aged wines, sparkling wines, amber wines, blends and sweet wines. Last year at the Balaton, there were 349 wines from 7 countries entered in the competition, while judges originated from 10 different countries, underlining the increasing interest in the variety.
I also had the pleasure recently of attending a fantastic Olaszrizling workshop organised just across the border in Slovenia in the small village of Kog by Roka Winery and Miro Vino. They had gathered 35 wines from 7 countries, including 4 from Hungary, for a blind tasting attended by winemakers and journalists. This tasting also highlighted the variety’s capabilities and potential. Danish wine writer and GROW jury member Thomas Bohl says that “Olaszrizling is so friendly and versatile that I personally find it difficult to understand why it is still so much under the radar internationally. At its best, it can be both thirst-quenching, appetising and thought-provoking.”
I truly echo his thoughts and believe that it is just this versatility that gives it so much potential. It can make wines that fit in with many of the wine world’s current trends – lighter wines, terroir-driven wines, full-bodied oaked wines, amber wines and sparkling wines – I’ve tasted some great ones from Serbia, although nobody really seems to be turning it into fizz in Hungary. As Thomas also says, “nowadays, many people are looking for wines that are more elegant and refined, subtle and complex, rather than instantly gratifying and mouth-filling. Wines that also go well with lighter and more delicate foods.” Olaszrizling ticks all the boxes here, giving it the potential to grow its interest internationally in all its styles and become a true flagship wine for Hungary.
Photos: Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency
