Wines of Hungary

In the heart of Europe, in the protective embrace of the Carpathians, there is a country
a country that fought the storms of history and due to them became so diverse and multi coulored.
This place is called Hungary.
Whatever has been imposed by foreign rules throughout the centuries
one thing remained unchanged for thousands of years:
passion for wine making
Anno Domini in 996 the first Christian monks arrived, and they brought the “culture of vine” with them.
Between 996 and 1001 they already planted vines.
Hungary is not a big country,
but it can proudly present more than 20 historical wine regions.
They are located on more than seventy thousand hectares of land, and these regions could not be more diverse.
Only a few dozen kilometers apart
you find completely different microclimates, soils and minerals.
Hungary has very colorful and complex natural conditions.
This is due to the diverse geology of the Carpathian Basin,
since the morphology of the land is a product of intense volcanic activities.
The Carpathian Basin is an independent ecological unit.
It is a basin with moderate continental emraced by mountains.
The moderate climate protect the vines does from freezing.
It has enough precipitation, so watering is not necessary.
At dawn fog covers protectively the Zemplén hills
to be replaced later by warm, autumn sunlights,
creating perfect condition for the „botrytis”,
which can so easyly settle down in the grapes growing in the loose volcanic soil.
The complexity of these conditions gave birth to – perhaps - the most famous wine of Hungary:
the Tokaji Aszu.
Furmint has been experiencing a nearly decade long renaissance in the dry white wines production.
The best place for demonsrating the unique character of Furmint is a small vineyard.
I am in search of an old plantation which can be the base of making a „seriously dry wine”.
The real goal is
to select the best performing vines, and then reinvigorate and put them back into production.
Obviosly every winemaker has the sole objective of becoming the best at all cost.
Accidently I ended up here in Somló and I purchased a plot here.
Instead of wine it was overgrown by weed.
But somehow I got involved, I got entengled like a ’fly in a spider's web’.
I think this is one of the world's best habitats.
It is not discovered yet. It requires commitment and credo.
Furmint is the basic wine here and it is the flagship of Somló.
The Ostoros is one of the few wineyards in the world that is capable of producing both
„headvy weight” red and white wines, like
Kadarka, Kékfrankos, Pinot Noir or Zweigelt. These are all ingredents of
high alcohol, heavy, mascular wines. Practically, this wine region is capable of doing everything and anything.
Obviously this is not happening from one year to another. From one vintage to another. It takes time.
We have started the selection the old varieties to be able to experiment with them. Let's see what are they capable of.
The old varieties will fire up wine consumer all over the world with their unusual, enchanting tastes.
Our fate is vested in Furmint, Juhfark, Hárslevelű, Cirfandli,
and in red Kékfrankos, Kadarka and Csókaszőlő.
All these grapes need to be rediscovered, because nobody else has this.
I imagined a balance of components resulting in harmony. It is important to have a straight forward impression reflective of
the vintage and complexity, like an exciting Bikavér.
A majorly structured Egri Bikavér Superior. I have just made it.
This is one cuvée, I am working on.
Very promising. It is amazing what this year, year of 2009 can do. Exceptional!
Traditional and innovative. Hungary is both. A unique place.
Our task is to re-create rank and prestige for our vineyards. For all of our pleasure and benefit.
Let us work on polishing the glory of our wineyards to make them more accessable to winelovers.
I am trying to step into the shoes of foreign wine expert to see how do they persive and appriciate Hungarian wines.
One thing is for sure, we have a lot to do.
This is a modern world of the tradictional wine making.
This is Hungary.