SOPRON

The Sopron region is in western Hungary, on the border with Austria, and has long been considered the spiritual home of the Kékfrankos grape.  The best vineyards are located in the hills above Balf, overlooking Lake Ferto.  The climate is temperate, with relatively frost-free springs, warm summer and fall seasons.  The soils on the best vineyard sites are primarily loess mixed with slate and granite.

Weninger Winery

Franz Weninger, a renown Austrian winemaker who has made his name producing great wines in Austria from the Kékfrankos (known as Blaufrankisch) varietal.  In 1997, he purchased 24 hectares in the excellent Spern Steiner and Frettner vineyards.  Included were 10 hectares of old Kékfrankos vines.  The varietals currently being produced are Kékfrankos, Merlot, Syrah, and a little bit of Cabernet Franc.

TOKAJ

Tokaj, located in northeastern Hungary, is the country’s most famous wine producing region.  The famed Aszú dessert wines have fascinated wine drinkers and graced Europe’s royal courts for centuries.  French King Louis proclaimed it the “Wine of Kings, King of Wines.“  The Russian czars maintained a unit of Cossack troops there to ensure a constant supply.  In 1772, the world's first vineyard classification system was developed in Tokaj-Hegyalja, almost one hundred years prior to the establishment of Bordeaux’s classifications.

Tokaj is one of the world’s unique terroirs, where the mix of  climate and soils provide the basis for the wines produced here. The soils are clay and loess, mixed with a variety of volcanic rock.

Winters are cold, spring comes early, and summers are warm.  During the long and sunny Autumn, the Tisza and Bodrog rivers  produce early morning fogs that blanket the vineyards.  As the day warms, the humidity and heat combine to initiate a process called botrytis cinera, or “noble rot“.  Essentially, the grapes lose their moisture and shrivel up, leaving high levels of sugar and acids.   These grapes are combined with a base wine to produce wines that have high residual sugar levels that are balanced by strong acidity and minerality.

Patricius Estate

VILLÁNY /SIKLOS

The Villány appellation is Hungary’s southernmost wine region.  Located near the 46^th meridian, the region is at nearly the same latitude as Bordeaux’s (France) northern areas.   Blessed with a Mediterranean climate, this region feels spring’s warmth and energy before the rest of the country, and has longer hours of sunshine than the national average.   The soil is primarily limestone covered with varying thicknesses of clay and loess, and rich in lime and calcium deposits. These ideal weather and soil conditions provide the basis for making amazing red and white wines using Hungarian and international varietals.

Bock Jozsef Winery

The Bock family has been making wine in the Villány area since the late 1800s.  World War II, and the ensuing Communist-led governing structure interrupted their traditions. Joszef, who was Hungary’s Winemaker of the Year in 1997, has spent the past seventeen years acquiring holdings in the region’s top vineyards,  including Jammertal and Ördögárok.

Jozsef’s wines are characterized by solid structure and body, excellent textures and aromas, and ageability among the premier selections.  The winery owns 50 hectares (124 acres), of which 36 hectares (89 acres) are currently producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Portugieser, Merlot, Kékfrankos, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. White grapes include Olaszrizling, Chardonnay, and Hárslevelu.   Bock’s signature wine is his Cuvée Barrique, a Bordeaux-style blend.

Gere Attila Winery

The Gere family’s grape growing and wine production tradition goes back 10 generations.  The family was also impacted by the government structure installed after World War II.  Attila, who was Hungary’s Winemaker of the Year in 1994, began making wine in 1978, with commercial efforts beginning in 1991.

The winery owns 50 hectares (124 acres), with 33 hectares (82 acres) of vineyards in some of the regions’s best sites such as Csillagvölgy, Kopár, Konkoly, and Ördögárok slopes. These vineyards produce cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, kékfrankos, and portugieser.  Attila’s flagship wine is Kopar, a Bordeaux-style blend.  Attila’s wines are polished, well made wines with the structure to keep improving in the cellar.

Malatinszky Csaba Winery

Csaba’s professional introduction to wine was serving as sommelier at Gundel, one of Budapest’s finest restaurants, in the early nineties. Csaba also opened one of Budapest‘s first fine wine stores in 1992.  After careful choosing Villány, he opened his winery there  in 1997.   

In a short time, Csaba’s wines have established themselves as among the finest in Hungary.  His wines are typified as big, refined wines that are approachable.  He pays meticulous attention to detail, even choosing the Hungarian oak that goes into the barrique barrels he uses.  Csaba currently has 27 hectares (67 acres) under cultivation, producing cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, pinot noir, kékfrankos, and chardonnay.  His flagship wine is the Cabernet Franc Kuria Unfiltered Selection, a fine example of what can be accomplished with this grape.

Weninger & Gere Winery

In the early 1990s, Franz Weninger, one of Austria’s leading red wine makers, made a move to invest in Hungary’s re-emerging wine industry, choosing the Villány appellation due to its execellent clay and limestone soils and Meditteranean climate.  He partnered with one of  Villány’s leading wine makers, Attila Gere, to form the Weninger & Gere Winery in 1992.