Somló Juhfark Tasting, 15 September

17 wineries will present their indigenous Juhfark wines at hosting Tornai Winery. The winemakers themselves will pour the wines and apart from the walk around tasting, a guided vineyard tour is organized from 4 pm, and from 6 pm an exciting vertical Juhfark tasting will be conducted with different Juhfark vintages of Tornai. The winery has a museum as well, visitors can take the opportunity and see the wine related collection of Tornai family. Some exhibiting wineries: Kreinbacher, Somló Abbey Winery, Somlói Vándor, Kolonics Winery.

When, where and how much

Tickets for the tasting cost 7900 HUF and extra programmes cost 3500 HUF (except from Tornai museum, which is free of charge). A transfer bus will be operated from Budapest for 4500 HUF / person. The tasting starts at 1 pm and finishes at 8 pm, the transfer bus is adjusted to the tasting (leaves Budapest at 10 am).

The event is held at Tornai Estate, Somlójenő, 160 kilometres from Budapest.

Somló terroir in two extremes

Kreinbacher Estate was the first in the wine region to produce bottle fermented sparkling wines with the help of a French consultant. Their Kreinbacher Brut and Prestige Brut sparkling wines have achieved numerous international awards, among others two of their vintage magnumswere awarded gold medal at Tom Stevenson’s CSWWC. While reaching the international top league with their sparkling wines, indigenous still wine made of Juhfark is equally important for Kreinbacher. After assorting and gentle whole bunch pressing nearly 60 % of the wine was elaborated in stainless steel tanks. The rest was fermented in 500–2500 litre wooden casks followed by eight months of ageing. “Citrus fruits, mineral tones of the Somló terroir and a touch of mint give the wine a cool character in the nose. Round, medium bodied Juhfark with intense fruitiness and refreshing acidity. Ripe fruits, and pear last in the aftertaste, and the salty aroma comes back on the palate, as well.”

The trophy winner

Tornai Winery managed to win the super prestigious International Wine Challenge Trophy in three consecutive years! Tornai Premium Juhfark 2015 won the third trophy in 2017 – an amazing result, which proves the potential of Somló and the grape variety as well. Aranyhegy Juhfark is another champion of the winery with Berliner Wine Trophy gold medal. „True terroir wine, through which reflects very well the power of Somló. Plenty of minerality on the nose, harmonious fruit in the background in combination with oakiness. Very rich on the palate, compact. The character of the soil is well mirrored, which is enriched by the oaky and very rich on the palate, compact. The character of the soil is well mirrored, which is enriched by the oaky and ripe fruit flavours in the backdrop.”

More about Juhfark

Did you know that Somló wine region’s emblematic grape, Juhfark is named after the sheep’s tail? The term refers to the elongated, cylindrical shape of the clusters. Juhfark is grown almost exclusively in the small volcanic hill of Somló, a small amount in Balatonfüred. Juhfark is rather neutral, restrained nose with some flowers and green apples. High, sometimes brutal acidity. It is really difficult to tame this variety, but there are amazing examples of it in history! If you are not afraid of straightforward acidity, take a chance on it. In Somló, the minerality paired with high acidity results some outstanding wines with great aging potential. It is often cited as the ‘wines of the wedding-night’ ,since it was believed to help when a couple had been longing for a son. The myth was disproved in our award winning article