As we reported earlier, 233 wineries entered 995 wines from all the 22 wine regions at the 45th Hungarian National Wine Contest organised by the National Council of Wine Communities. 10 grand gold, 215 gold and 78 silver medals were given along with 18 special awards. The special awards are listed here, now let us recommend 5 must-try wines among the gold medal winners.

5 Hungarian wines dedicated to women

Olívia from Kunság, Hërka from Villány, Adél from Mátra, Gabriella from Badacsony and Katinka from Tokaj – five lovely wines with enchanting stories, from Hungarian winemakers.

Olívia, Irsai Olivér’s bride (Frittmann Winery, Kunság wine region)

The family winery in Kunság wine region has been working with Generosa, a less known variety for a long time. The Hungarian Generosa is a cross between Ezerjó and Piros Tramini (Savagnin Rose). This pink-berried cross was obtained in 1951 by Bíró Károly in Hungary, tested since 1976 by Edit Hajdú at the Kecskemét viticulture research centre, and finally christened Generosa in 2004. In 2020 they blended Irsai Olivér with Generosa, and thus Olívia was born! The wine is charming, intense on the nose but not overwhelming, like a gracious young lady. Refreshing, juicy and the aromas of ripened grape linger on in our mouth. The two varieties work together perfectly, the result is a super balanced, wonderful summer wine made in every vintage.

More about Frittmann Winery

15th edition at New York Palace

At the jubilee edition 42 wineries will pour their wines from the volcanic Badacsony wine region, plus as a result of a new partnership between Badacsony and Wachau, 10 guest producers from the Austrian wine region will also participate. Entrance for members of the trade is free, but registration is necessary.

Date and time: 11 April 2026, 14.30–17.00 trade tasting, 15.00–20.00 consumers’ tasting
Venue: Anantara New York Palace Hotel, Budapest, Erzsébet krt. 9, 1073 Hungary
Tickets for consumers: purchased in advance: 14.900 HUV, at the venue: 19 900 HUF
Student discount: 2000 HUF off.
A masterclass will be held with wines of Badacsony and Wachau by Dr. András Csizmadia and Sándor Németi wine experts. To participate in the masterclass a special, combined ticket is needed: 29 000 HUF (purchased in advance). Wine bites will be paired made by András Wolf chef (New York Café).
Registration for trade members and ordering tickets: badacsonynewyorkban@gmail.com, telephone: +36 87 531 013
Tasting glass: available to rent, cash is needed.
Food will be available to purchase at some exhibitors.
Facebook page of the event
Exhibitors below the photos

More than 60 exhibitors

Taste Furmint wines from at least 60 wineries in one place, with one ticket. Certainly, Tokaj wine region will be represented with the most wineries, like Béres Vineyards in our cover photo, but participants can taste Furmint wines from other regions as well. Steigler Cellar will be there from Sopron, Kovács Nimród Winery from Eger,Borbély Family Winery from Badacsony and Tornai Winery from Somló.

Date and time: 26 February 2026 (Thursday), 16.00–21.00
Venue: Hungarian Heritage House, 1011 Budapest, Corvin tér 8
Tickets purchased in advance: 21 900 HUF / approximately 58 EUR
Tickets on the spot: 25 000 HUF / approximately 66 EUR
For the full list of exhibitors scroll down
Get your ticket here (at the bottom, page is in Hungarian, but google can help or you can contact the organiser here)

Furmint in a nutshell

– Furmint is one of the few grapes allowed to use under the appellation of Tokaj, it is the main grape of aszú wines along with Hárslevelű.
– Tokaj winemakers answered with stunning dry Furmint wines to the decrease of sweet wine consumption.
– Furmint is grown all over Hungary, marvellous Furmint wines are made in Somló, Badacsony, Balatonfüred–Csopak, Mátra and Eger.
– It ripens late and has a nose of fresh fruits, often compared to ripe pear. Its significant acidity and alcohol produce characterful wines sometimes with a touch of tartness.
– Furmint originates from Tokaj, and there are several evidences to prove that, one of them is the mention of the variety as early as 1611 in a document from Erdőbénye, Tokaj region.

The latest discovery about furmint, announced yesterday:

Turkish Kolorko grape variety is identified as Hungary’s Furmint

A Turkish grape is actually Furmint!

Béres Lőcse Furmint is available in magnum format!

“This wine was made from the selected harvest of Furmint vines from the Lőcse vineyard. The must, gently pressed with a maximum pressure of 1 bar, was settled for one night. The clarified must was fermented in new wooden barrels. After fermentation, it was aged for 6 months in barrels of various sizes (2 and 5 hectolitres) with different toasts. During aging, the wine developed its harmonious, rounded, mineral character due to constant lees stirring and micro-oxygenation processes. After the aging process, we crafted the final blend by skilfully marrying the best barrels.”
More about the wine and Béres Tokaj

Exhibitors of Furmint February Grand Tasting 2026

Angyal (Tokaj)
ÁTS (Tokaj)
Babits (Tokaj)
Bardon (Tokaj)
Béres (Tokaj)
Bodrog Borműhely  (Tokaj)
Boldog Balaton (Balaton)
Borbély (Badacsony)
Bott (Tokaj)
Dénes (Somló)
Dereszla (Tokaj)
Disznókő (Tokaj)
Dobogó (Tokaj)
Dorogi (Tokaj)
Emerencia (Tokaj)
Erzsébet (Tokaj)
Eskol (Tokaj)
Espák (Tokaj)
Frikker (Tokaj)
Füleky (Tokaj)
Gapa (Tokaj)
Gizella (Tokaj)
Grand Tokaj (Tokaj)
Gróf Degenfeld (Tokaj)
H-négyzet (Mátra)
Heidrich (Tokaj)
Holdvölgy (Tokaj)
IN Borok
Kálvária (the organiser’s own cellar in Budakalász, near Budapest)
Kikelet (Tokaj)
Kolonics (Somló)
Kovács Nimród Winery (Eger)
Kvaszinger (Tokaj)
Lenkey (Tokaj)
Mádi A (Tokaj)
Maison aux Pois (Tokaj)
Mariasy (Tokaj)
Montium (Tokaj)
Naár (Tokaj)
Napvirág (Badacsony)
P.A.N.K. (Badacsony)
Pálffy (Balaton Uplands)
Patricius (Tokaj)
Paunoch (Tokaj)
Pelle (Tokaj)
Pendits (Tokaj)
Préselő (Tokaj)
Rózsa (Tokaj)
Samuel Tinon (Tokaj)
Sanzon Tokaj (Tokaj)
Sauska (Tokaj)
Serpens Wine (Tokaj)
Somlói Vándor (Somló)
Steigler Pince (Sopron)
Szűcs (Tokaj)
T3 (Tokaj)
Tokaj Drei (Tokaj)
Tokaj-Hétszőlő Organic Vineyards (Tokaj)
Tokaj-Oremus  (Tokaj)
Tokajicum (Tokaj)
Tornai (Somló)
TóthBorbirtok (Pannonhalma)

Trifecta Wines (Tokaj)
Wine Mission

Zsirai (Tokaj)

 

16th edition with estates from ALL the 22 wine regions of Hungary

More than 150 wineries will exhibit at Borjour Magnum, the annual tasting of not only the well-established, famous wineries, but also of the ones yet to be discovered. Literally all the 22 wine regions will be represented including the rarely mentioned Csongrád and Bükk, along with some Hungarian wineries from beyond the borders. Early bird tickets are on sale!

Date and time: 14 February 2026, 15.00–21.00
Venue: Budapest Congress Centre, 1123 Budapest, Jagelló út 1–3.
Tickets: an early bird ticket is 16 900 HUF (instead of 30 000 HUF), it is approximately 44 EUR. The best value ticket is the limited-edition dual ticket (Valentine Ticket) for only 39 900 HUF / 2 people (approximately 103 EUR).
Website of the event

Truffle-seeking demonstration and other extras

Borjour Magnum offers some side programmes, for example a little show with Samok, a dog will demonstrate in every hour how he finds truffles in the forest. Glass test, Coravin show, olive tasting, cheese premier and tasting of delicacies made of plants grown in the wild by Dzsindzsa.

Some of the exhibitors:

Borbély Family Winery (Badacsony), Dominium Winery (Mátra), Feind Winery (Balatonfüred–Csopak), Frittmann Winery (Kunság), Gál Tibor Winery (Eger), Garamvári Vineyard (Balatonlelle), Homola Winery (Balatonfüred), Koch Winery (Hajós–Baja), Kovács Nimród Winery (Eger), Pannonhalma Archabbey Winery (Pannonhalma), Sabar Wine House (Badacsony), Szeleshát (Szekszárd), Taschner Winery (Sopron), Teleki Wines (Villány), Tűzkő Estate (Tolna).

See all the exhibitors here
(Click on ‘KÖVETKEZŐ’ meaning ‘NEXT’ at the bottom of the page to see more)

A place to find new favs

Borjour Magnum is huge indeed and features several relatively or actually unknown and / or new wineries, thus it is the best place to discover new favourites. For example, we have not heard of Rózsa Winery (Tokaj), Katalin Rábai (Neszmély), Neiner Cellar (Szekszárd), just to mention a few.

New sparkling wine by Borbély Family Winery

Do you want to get married? Come to Badacsony (Lake Balaton), sit on ‘Rose Stone’ and you will, according to the popular belief. And you are more likely to enchant your future partner if you serve him / her sparkling wine made of (partially) ‘Rose Stone’ (Rózsakő) grape!
Cover photo: the Rose Stone in Badacsony covered in rose petals
See the story of Rose Stone below.

Borbély Metamorphosis Extra Brut 2024

Borbély Family Winery has recently released the first traditional method called Metamorphosis. The 2024 vintage sparkling spent 12 months on the lees, extra brut (4 g residual sugar), and the base wine is a blend of Rózsakő and Furmint.
Double uniqueness, since there are hardly any sparkling wines made of Rózsakő (we haven’t tasted any, never ever), plus there is not much Furmint in Badacsony. And the sparkling wine is a super novelty of the family winery!
As Tamás Borbély commented, he had been considering Rózsakő as a sparkling base wine, since it gives a great structure of acidity in every vintage, whether it is a dry or a wet year. The sparkling wine fermented fully, and the sugar level was zero. Tamás decided to add a dosage of 4 g, to make it more elegant and richer. Disgorging is carried out in several batches, to see how the wine develops. The first lot was disgorged on 3 December, after 12 months, this is available now.
The Rózsakő–Furmint Metamorphosis boasts charming aromas, elegant, it has a saline minerality and it reflects the terroir nicely, without being excessive.
Sarah Marsh MW has just released an article about Hungarian sparkling wines, she was impressed by the versatility and mentioned Kéknyelű, as base wine of sparklings. She should come back to Hungary to taste the first sparkling wine of the love child of Kéknyelű!
Metamorphosis Extra Brut 2024 is now 6900 HUF (instead of 7900 HUF), which is approximately 18 EUR.
Borbély Webshop

Borbély wines are available in Germany (ungarische-weinauslese.de) and in the Netherlands (wijndruppels.nl). If you are interested in importing Borbély wines, contact Tamás Borbély.

The story of Rose Stone

On the way up to the top of the Badacsony, you can see a basalt mound which has fallen down from the rocks of the mountain, called the Rózsakő (Rose Stone).  It is named after Róza Szegedy, the wife of the 19th century local poet Sándor Kisfaludy. The Rózsakő (Rose Stone) not only commemorates the love of the Kisfaludy couple, but also countless lovers after them. According to a local legend, if lovers sit down on the Rose Stone while holding hands with their backs turned to Lake Balaton, they will marry the following year.
Source: Badacsony.com

When you find the one, you don’t need superstitions

Tamás Borbély, second generation winemaker, the youngest Winemaker of the Year ever likes working with Badacsony grapes, like Kéknyelű, Rózsakő, Zeusz and Budai Zöld and this new bottle fermented sparkling wine is a great example of his knowledge of terroir along with his urge to experiment. Has he ever sat on the Rose Stone with his partner? Well, he is personally not so keen on this story, but he is happily married to Barbara Borbély-Kiss, and they are happy parents with their 7-year-old son!

Rózsakő grape variety

– This grape is exclusively grown in Badacsony wine region.
– The skin is rather thick therefore less sensitive than Kéknyelű, and more productive. It resembles Kéknyelű in its characteristics and can also give high quality wines.
– A cross between Kéknyelű and Budai Zöld develoved by Dr. Ferenc Király in Badacsony in 1957 – a most logical decision to cross these two grapes, since they are often planted adjacent to each other to improve pollination.

More about Borbély Family Winery

Borbély Family Winery

Another local cuvée

Tomaj 2024 – Badacsony blended

The Best Kéknyelű of Balaton

Borbély – Kéknyelű All Star

Back to black grapes in Badacsony?

“Red Balaton” – Oraculum Pinot by Borbély from Badacsony

Wine of the Weekend

Borbély Family Winery blended Kéknyelű, the iconic and unique Badacsony grape variety with Rózsakő (‘Rose Stone’), a “child” of Kéknyelű and with Olaszrizling, the most planted white grape of Balaton. The wine has recently received an outstanding review from Vince Hungarian wine magazine.

Tomaj is a fairly new release by Borbély Family Winery, which is located in a small place called Badacsonytomaj, hence Tomaj refers to the place within volcanic Badacsony wine region.
Vince panel review: “Light greenish yellow colour. Good intensity on the nose with some pronounced minerality and stone fruits. A little carbon dioxide makes it even fresher. Medium body, firm structure, crispy acidity, good complexity, green apples on the palate.”
(16.40 pts, September issue)

More about Borbély Family Winery

A sip of knowledge about the “ingredients”

Kéknyelű

– This grape is exclusively grown in Badacsony wine region. Planting alternate rows with a variety such as Budai Zöld encourages more consistent pollination.
– In good vintages it gives elegant wine with creamy structure and subtle, fine acidity. Rare grape variety that is capable of giving exceptionally high quality wines.
– Kéknyelű is quite likely of Hungarian origin. Very popular among the winemakers, though it is hard to cultivate. It ripens relatively late, therefore it needs protection from the hungry games living in the forests of Badacsony and Szent György mountain. “Kéknyelű, meaning ‘blue stalk’ and referring to the slightly blue tint of the petiole, is an old variety probably originating from the Badacsony region in western Hungary. The alleged synonymy between Kéknyelű and the Italian Picolit mentioned in the Vitis International Variety Catalogue has been disproved by DNA profiling.” Excerpt From: Robinson, Jancis; Harding, Julia; Vouillamoz, Jose. “Wine Grapes (9780062325518).” iBooks.

Rózsakő

– This grape is exclusively grown in Badacsony wine region.
– The skin is rather thick therefore less sensitive than Kéknyelű, and more productive. It resembles Kéknyelű in its characteristics and can also give high quality wines.
– A cross between Kéknyelű and Budai Zöld develoved by Dr. Ferenc Király in Badacsony in 1957 – a most logical decision to cross these two grapes, since they are often planted adjacent to each other to improve pollination. The name literally means ‘Rose Stone’ and given after Róza Szegedi, a beautiful and intelligent woman who is known as the eternal love of the Hungarian poet Sándor Kisfaludy. The poet and Róza used to sit on a heart shaped basalt rock on Badacsony mountain enjoying the spectacular view of Lake Balaton. The stone is named after Róza, the grape is named after the stone.

Olaszrizling

– It is grown all over Hungary, in fact the most widely planted grape in the country, and popular in the whole Carpathian basin.
– It ripens rather late, in good vintages even shrivels. When young, there are flowers on the nose, on the palate full of flavours and there is a little bitter almond note in its aftertaste. It has a pleasant, refreshing acidity. Olaszrizling is capable of long barrel ageing.
– It was and is mistaken for Rhine Riesling, though it is a completely different grape. Its synonyms include the most common Welschriesling (Austria, Germany), Graševina in Croatia, Laški Rizling in Slovenia. It is quite likely to originate from the Danube basin, though there are numerous other hypotheses. Though it is the most widely planted grape of Hungary, it did not have a good reputation for a long time and while nowadays wonderful examples are easy to find in Hungary both in fresh and aged style.

A World Heritage site, 4 days, nearly 90 wine exhibitors

Buda Castle is undoubtedly one of the most majestic venues of the world, no wonder the pop star Katy Perry’s video for the song Firework was shot here. “THE” Wine Festival, as it is often referred to was the first significant wine event more than three decades ago. The organizers put a lot of effort into the renewal from time to time, as a consequence the 4-day open air wine cavalcade has still been the meeting point of wine enthusiasts.

Date and time: 11–14 September 2025, from 2 pm (check closing hours here)
Venue: Buda Castle, in the centre of Budapest, easy access. Find more details here.
Tickets: Daily tickets between 6900 HUF and 8900 HUF, more details here.
Food will be available to purchase at more than 20 vendors, including an oyster shop and some well-known Budapest restaurants, like Pomo d’Oro.
Some of the exhibitors: Bock (Villány), Borbély Family Winery (Badacsony), Fehérvári Wine Estate (Somló), Garamvári Vineyards (South Balaton), Teleki (Villány), Thummerer Winery (Eger), Tornai Winery (Somló), Tűzkő Estate (Tolna), Vylyan Vineyard and Winery (Villány).
Novelty this year: several wineries and companies exhibit for the first time or for the first time after many years, like the importing Heinemann Brothers and the kosher and vegan wine producing Gluck Estates.
Message from the organizers: “This autumn, you are invited to one of Hungary’s most iconic events, the Budapest Wine Festival, a true celebration of wine culture, elegance, and gastronomy for over three decades. Set within the historic walls of the Buda Castle, the festival offers a unique atmosphere, a powerful sense of community, and an unforgettable meeting of past and present, must-attend for every wine enthusiast. Say farewell to summer in style between September 11 and 14 with fine wines, breathtaking Danube sunsets, great company, and a rich blend of flavours. Expect a masterfully curated gastronomic selection and sophisticated wines from Hungary and beyond.”

 

The results of the 21st Badacsonyi Kéknyelű Contest

Kéknyelű is a rare grape almost exclusively grown in the volcanic Badacsony wine region, north of Lake Balaton. The annual Kéknyelű contest results have been announced recently, and the absolute winner of the competition is Borbély Family Winery with 3 Grand Gold medals out of the 4 (plus 3 gold medals and 2 silver medals). The 2015 vintage with its Grand Gold proves Kéknyelű’s potential for ageing.

The versatile Kéknyelű

Altogether 23 producers entered 43 wines at the 21st edition of Badacsony Kéknyelű Contest. 4 Grand Gold was given, 17 gold, 19 silver and 3 bronze medals. (Yes, if you add up the medal winners, you will get the sum of 43, which means that all entered wines received at least a bronze medal.) The grand gold winner wines are:
– Borbély Badacsonyi Kéknyelű Selection 2020
– Borbély Badacsonyi Kéknyelű Selection 2015
– Borbély Badacsonyi Kéknyelű Selection 2019
– Weller Badacsonyi Kéknyelű 2020
The results of the contest give evidence of the versatility of Kényelű variety. Apart for giving elegant and delicate dry white wine, it is ideal for late harvest (Fölföldi Badacsonyi Kéknyelű Late Harvest 2015 gold medal) and also for traditional method sparkling wine (Weller Badacsonyi Kéknyelű Sparkling 2020 gold medal).

See the list of medal winners here

Read more about Borbély Family Winery

 

Taste Kéknyelű wines in Badacsony in July during the Badacsony Bor7, meaning “Badacsony Wine Week” from the 18th of July until the 3rd of August (well, it is a long week:). It is a free outdoor event with several exhibitors (including Borbély) and music concerts in the centre of Badacsony. No prior registration is needed, just go and enjoy.

More about the event here

 

Badacsonyi Kéknyelű – a brand new member of the Collection of Hungarikums

“Hungarikum is a collective term indicating a value worthy of distinction and highlighting within a unified system of qualification, classification, and registry and which represents the high performance of Hungarian people thanks to its typically Hungarian attribute, uniqueness, specialty and quality.” There are several categories including Industrial & Technical solutions (with the gorgeous Zsolnay porcelain) and Cultural heritage (with the 100-member Budapest Gipsy Symphony Orchestra).
Agriculture and food industry category includes – among others – the Hungarian acacia honey, the chimney cake and the ground paprika from the city of Szeged. As for wines within this category, we have Egri Bikavér and now Badacsonyi Kéknyelű.

Though the official website of the Collection of Hungarikums is not updated yet, Badacsonyi Kéknyelű was included in the prestigious list on the 29th of May, 2025.

See the Collection of Hungarikums here

A recent article about a new release by Borbély Family Winery

“Red Balaton” – Oraculum Pinot by Borbély from Badacsony

We have introduced an “estate red” by Babarczi recently based on the panel tasting of the Hungarian Vince magazine. The tasting presented affordable red wines representing the “style of the house”. These wines are really worth trying, just like the star of our cover photo, which comes from Badacsony, one of the wine regions around Lake Balaton.

 

Back to black grapes

BalatonBor, the community brand of the wineries around Lake Balaton is made of Olaszrizling, the most planted grape of the region. It is white, just like the other popular grapes in the region, like Szürkebarát (Pinot Gris), Muscat Ottonel, Kéknyelű.
However, before phylloxera devastated the vineyards of Europe, Balaton was planted mostly with black varieties. Nowadays we live in an era when rediscovering ancient traditions and extinct varieties is a trend in the wine scene. Balaton producers have started to make red wines, not only to enlarge their portfolio and to have something for the duck and the beef dishes, but also because their forefathers did so.
Quite unexpectedly the winner of the above-mentioned panel tasting is a wine from Balaton by Zelna Winery from Balatonfüred. The wine is called Bárka and is made of Kéfrankos, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and indeed a great wine.

More about Zelna Winery
Meet Zelna in London at CEE Wine Fair

Borbély Oraculum Pinot Noir 2023

Vince magazine is quite close to me, because I used to be the editor-in-chief for 12 years. I know how rigorous the chief expert, László Romsics is, so I absolutely trust in the results printed in the magazine. What is more, my sister still works there, she is the tasting coordinator, and a guarantee of fair and professional judging. I remember our first Pinot Noir panel tasting, back in 2005. Well, almost all the wines were barely drinkable, our conclusion was that the Hungarian producers cannot handle Pinot Noir, this difficult variety.
Tasting Oraculum, I can admit that those times are behind us. The wine is excellent – as the magazine’s panel evaluated it, with 16.25 points out of 20, 4 stars out of 5.
“Vibrant nose with red berry fruits and a touch of vanilla and clove. Ethereal, lighter body, easy drinking, juicy, enchanting with moderate tannins and lively acidity. The palate is abundant in fruits: raspberry, redcurrant, sour cherry, forest fruits and again vanilla and clove.”
And where does the name come from? The idea came from Tamás Borbély’s wife. She suggested the name because an “oraculum” can predict the future, and maybe this wine can tell if black varieties have a future in Badacsony.

Borbély wines are available in Germany (ungarische-weinauslese.de) and in the Netherlands (wijndruppels.nl). If you are interested in importing Borbély wines, contact Tamás Borbély.

And the best place to taste Borbély wines?

Visit them in Badacsony, stay in the guest house among the vineyards and enjoy tranquillity!

Borbély Family Winery