Hungary produces many wines from the local grape varieties, such as the rose-scented white Irsai Oliver, and red Kekfrankos; full of redcurrant fruit. There are also an increasing number of excellent examples of international grapes like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.
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Location
Landlocked: northwest of Romania, east of Austria and south of Slovakia.
Grapes
- Red: Kekoporto and Kekfrankos
- White: Furmint, Harslevelu and
Irsai Oliver
Look Out For
Tokaji: Hungary's deliciously tangy and smoky sweet wine. It
is made using grapes with noble rot, which are known as Aszu.
These wines are labelled Tokaji Aszu and the sweetness is measured
in puttonyos. The higher the number, the sweeter, more prestigious,
and more expensive the wine.
- 3-puttonyos Tokaji: sweet
- 6-puttonyos Tokaji: concentrated
and rich
- Aszu Eszencia: sweeter still and very intense
- Szamorodni:
contains only a small proportion of Aszu grapes and ranges
from dry to medium-sweet.
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The future of Hungary's wine success may rest with its whites. The Chardonnay is impressive, and Sauvignon Blanc is said to be worth a try, appearing to be between Sancerre and New Zealand in style.
One of Hungary's treasures is the sweet wine known as Tokaji. It is perfumed with smoke, toffee, apricot, vanilla, orange peel and honey. Although Tokaji Aszu is an extremely sweet wine, its acidity and oxidation prevent it from tasting overly so.
After 5-15 years, Tokaji assumes a raisiny richness and its bouquet increases in complexity. A Tokaji over 30 years of age should be a fresh and balanced wine: liquorous in texture; full of soft and ripe fruit flavours; and with a lingering finish that has the richness of honey.
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Tokaj (pronounced "tok-eye") is the main
town of the region
Tokaji (pronounced "tok-eye-ee") means "of
Tokaj",
and is used with the grape variety or type of wine. For example,
Tokaji Furmint or Tokaji Aszu. |
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