Winelovers River Night

The annual summer cruising & tasting will take place this Thursday. 25 wineries pour their wines, many of them will surely bring sparkling wines as well. Béres (Tokaj), Garamvári (Balaton), Holdvölgy (Tokaj), Koch (Hajós–Baja) are some of the exhibitors with bubblies.

Date and time: 24 July 2025, 18.00–22.00 (two hours cruising)
Venue: Európa river cruiser, meeting point at ‘Jégverem’ port
Tickets purchased in advance: 15 900 HUF, on the spot: 18 900 HUF
Food will be available as well.
More information and tickets here (in Hungarian, butt google can help)

The sparkling stars of our cover photo

Béres Tokaji Méthode Traditionnelle Brut 2019

The winery has collected several great acknowledgments recently, like the highest scores for Hungarian wines at Decanter World Wine Award. This bottle fermented is made of 100% Hárslevelű, which is less typical in Tokaj wine region, than sparklings made of Furmint. “Dry, fresh, yet with a very rich palate with hints of apple, pear, peach, citrus, and rhubarb with a strong minerality that lingers in the finish along with grapefruit-like citrusy and tart green apple characteristics.”
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Garamvári Lellei Furmint Brut

This family-owned winery was the first use Furmint variety for bottle fermented sparkling wines. Back then it was made of Furmint from Tokaj, and they keep on producing it, but this wine is made of Furmint from the South shore of Lake Balaton. This sparkling wine has been chosen the best traditional method sparkling wine of the latest edition of the Hungarian National Wine Contest. “The base wine come from just opposite the winery from Balatonlelle. The Furmint is an excellent grape variety for sparkling wines. The variety has outstanding acidity in our wine region and our soil has similar characteristics as the soil of Tokaj region. Here the grape has more fruitiness and lighter aromas. It bears a very strong character with refreshing citruses, green apple and creamy, biscuit notes.”
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Holdvölgy Hold and Hollo Uppp 2024

The winery makes outstanding quality dry and sweet wines, unforgettable Tokaji Aszú wines as well, while Uppp is the playful face of the estate, an aerated sparkling wine with only 9.7 g/L residual sugar, made of Zéta and Hárslevelű. “The 10th vintage of our sparkling wine, dressed in orange, is explosive with its subtle and dynamic bubbles. The nose is filled with floral notes, citrus, and peach, evoking a vibrant fruit medley. The palate is crispy and flavourful, featuring peach, pomelo, and refreshing pink grapefruit. A lively and charming Hold and Hollo experience.”
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Koch Chardonnay Brut, Extra Brut and Brut Nature 2017

The above described three sparkling wines are all made of indigenous grapes, while the sparklings of Csaba Koch are made of Chardonnay. It does not mean that he is not keen on local grapes, on the contrary, he has Kadarka, Irsai, Cserszegi and many other wines made of local grapes, but for the Champagne method sparkling wine he wanted a Champagne variety. He makes three types of sparkling Chardonnay: a brut, an extra brut and a brut nature – this latter one is unfiltered, really exciting and complex! All of them spend one year with the lees in the bottle. The best is to try all of them along each other…
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