John Clarke British wine writer has published several great articles about Hungarian wines on Independent.co.uk. His latest piece presents 10 wines from all over the world for “summertime sipping”. Click here to see this great selection of wines – all available in the UK. The Hungarian one is a Zenit by Sándor Mérész, chief winemaker of Etyeki Kúria.

Striving for sustainability

As John Clark describes the estate, Etyeki Kúria is a winery where sustainable practices “include the use of solar power, the introduction of a special seed mix between the rows of vines and the use of lightweight glass bottles. A splendid summer wine with pear and stone fruit notes, it’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans and pairs remarkably well with a range of light summer dishes.”
The wine is available for 19.99 GBP in the UK on Hometipple.com.

An experimental project

The full name of the above mentioned wine is Etyeki Kúria MSP Zenit 2019.
– Etyeki Kúria is the name of the estate referring also to Etyek, the wine region also known as the “vineyard of Budapest”, since it is only a stone’s throw from the capital.
– In MSP “MS” stands for Mérész Sándor (Sándor Mérész, in Hungary we start with the surname), the chief winemaker of the estate, who makes an exciting, experimental line of wines within the portfolio, hence “P” for Project.

– Zenit stands for the grape variety, which gains more and more popularity in Hungary due to its versatility, excellent potential as a blending partner and other merits.
More about Etyeki Kúria wines

Read “10 best dry white wines for summertime sipping: From pinot grigio to chardonnay” by John Clarke

Some facts about Zenit

– Although Zenit is widely dispersed around Hungary, particularly in higher sites in Mátra, Eger and around Lake Balaton, the total area is less than 600 hectares.

– Zenit is a crossing between Bouvier and Ezerjó grapes created in Pécs Research Centre in Hungary by Ferenc Király in 1951, but it was officially recognized only in 1976. Thanks to its good abilities Zenit is getting more and more popular. In Bükk wine region some young pioneer winemakers take Zenit very seriously. Pécs Research Centre created a stunning bottle fermented sparkling wine out of Zenit last year. The wine is called Nadír 63.

– Wines are crisp with flavours of apple and citrus but not overly aromatic; the best examples are potentially long-lived and subtle with a mineral edge. (Excerpt From: Robinson, Jancis; Harding, Julia; Vouillamoz, Jose. “Wine Grapes”)