16–18 May 2026, Vienna

A professional jury has selected 25 Hungarian Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) wines, which will represent the variety at VieVinum Austrian wine expo on 16–18 May 2026 in Vienna.
For the list of 25 wines scroll down.

Selected wines by wine region

9 Szekszárd,
7 Villány,
3 Sopron,
2 Balaton-felvidék,
1 Badacsony,
1 Balatonfüred–Csopak,
1 Eger,
1 Etyek–Buda

Wines from our cover photo

Bock Kékfrankos Selection 2023, Villány

Yield controlled fruit from Fekete-hegy vineyard. Fermentation in stainless steel, ageing in 2nd use barrique. Cherry, sour cherry and chocolate on the nose and palate.
More about the winery

Etyeki Kúria MSV Konkrét Kékfrankos 2023, Sopron

Hand harvest, gentle destemming, fermentation on the skin. Ageing for a year in concrete tank. Pure fruitiness – sour cherry, cherry, redcurrant – complemented by a hint of spiciness and some minerality.
More about the winery

Heimann Bati Kereszt Kékfrankos 2021, Szekszárd

The grape comes from the north-facing Bati Kereszt vineyard. Beautiful aroma with a lighter body, very floral, cool, and playful. The 2021 vintage is particularly young and vibrant.

More about the winery

“Specialists & Independents Together” present their wines tomorrow in London at The Royal Horticultural Halls. Novel Wines is one of the exhibitors, presenting wines – among others – from Hungary, for example the two red wines from Heumann Winery, Villány.
Background photo: Pexels / Kris Lucas

Time: 10.30am – 5.00pm
Venue: The Royal Horticultural Halls, The Lindley Hall, 80 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PB
Pre-registration will close at midday on Tuesday 24th February.
Registration on the spot is also possible, just bring your business card.
Exhibitors: there are 31 exhibitors at the London event, see the list here.
More information

Novel Wines is an independent, award-winning wine merchant and importer specialising in lesser-known quality wines from emerging regions.

Novel Wines descriptions about the Heimann wines

Heumann Blue Secret, 2018

– Soft, smooth red wine with blackberries, cherries and plums.
– A medium-full bodied red wine from Villany, Hungary. It’s a blend of Kekfrankos, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.0% abv.
– Suitable for Vegetarians.
– You’ll like this if you like…
Rioja or Malbec red wines, drinking red wine in front of a roaring fire, or smooth and silky wines with less tannin.
– Gold, Mundus Vini 2020.
– Brand new blend from Hungary’s leading red wine area, Villany, in the south of the country. Selected from 14-24 year old vines grown on loess and limestone soils, the fruit is carefully ripened and gently crushed. The resulting fruit-forward wine has aromas of red cherries and vanilla with a deep purple colour and notes of smooth blackberries, cherries and plums on the palate. The tannins are soft and gentle with a rather long finish.
– Food pairing:
Pairs beautifully with: Braised beef, pulled pork with barbeque dressing, pepperoni pizza, shepherd’s pie, Lancashire hot pot, roast game or meatballs in tomato sauce.

Heumann La Trinitá, 2018

– Delightful Villanyi Franc with rich flavours of cassis, dark chocolate and black fruits over fine tannin.
– Heumann La Trinitá Villanyi Franc is a full bodied red wine from Villány, Hungary. It’s 100% Cabernet Franc with 15.0% abv.
– Suitable for Vegans.
– Introducing the top wine from Swiss winemakers Evelyne and Erhard Heumann, made in the warmth of the Villány region. Villány is a landscape perfectly suited to growing a fuller style of Cabernet Franc that retains structure, complexity and fine tannin. While most of the soil is loess, there’s a high proportion of limestone, contributing freshness and concentration to the grapes. It does this by balancing Villány’s warm climate with adequate water retention in the soils so the vines do not overstress or suffer drought. The wine is fermented in temperature controlled tanks and matured in 225L Hungarian oak barriques for 24 months. The resulting wine is dark purple in colour with deep black fruit aromas. Good acidity, a layered structure and finely grained tannin evoke the wine’s complex character; think a mix of mulberries, black cherry and spice with dark chocolate and woody hints. This is a very satisfying red!
– Food pairing.
Pairs beautifully with: Smoky BBQ food, pork belly, goose liver pate, beef burgers, slow cooked lamb stew, meatballs in tomato sauce, roasted root veggies or beluga lentils. Cheese pairing: Mature Brie, Camembert or strong Tomme de Savoie.

More about Heumann Winery

Importer of the month: Hundert Weinhaus

Wineries attend exhibitions to network and secure orders, but this is hard work and extremely costly, and sometimes an exhibition yields no results but costs a lot of money. However, this is not the case with the Weinfestival Basel. The Swiss go there to taste and then order, so in addition to fruitful connections, there is also immediate success. Last November was a success for the Villány wineries exhibiting, and István Bicsek and Marietta, the owners of the Hundert Weinhaus wine shop, played a major role in this.
Author: Ágnes Németh

Contact

Hundert Weinhaus
Address: Leuenallee 8A, CH-4702 Oensingen, Switzerland
Email: info@hundertweinhaus.com
Tel: +41 (0)79 555 99 15
https://hundertweinhaus.com/

Wineries in the Hundert Weinhaus portfolio

A Gere Winery (Villány), Árvai Family Winery (Tokaj), Bock Winery (Villány), Bodri Winery (Szekszárd), Erzsébet Cellar (Tokaj), Eszterbauer Winery (Szekszárd), Fritz Cellar (Szekszárd), Gróf Degenfeld Estate (Tokaj), Günzer Winery (Villány), Heumann Winery (Villány), Hétszőlő (Tokaj), Jammertal Wine Estate (Villány), Kikelet Winery (Tokaj), Koch Winery (Hajós–Baja / Villány), Mészáros Winery (Szekszárd), Pajzos (Tokaj), Ruppert Winery (Villány), Teleki Wines (Villány), Thummerer Winery (Eger), Törley Winery (Etyek–Buda), Tornai Winery (Somló), Vylyan Vineyard and Winery (Villány)

Foreword

I have never taken so long to write an article, and I am solely to blame for this. I usually send my questions for the Importer of the Month series by email, which is what I did in the case of Hundert Weinhaus – roughly two years ago. However, Marietta Bicsek, one half of the owner couple, was busy preparing for a pre-Christmas expo and didn’t want to bother with writing, so she called me. I was on vacation at the time, walking around Bordeaux with my children, and unfortunately, by the time I got home, my memory of our pleasant and informative phone conversation had faded. I felt ashamed about this, and that was the end of it. Until last November, when we attended the Franc & Franc conference in Villány together, picked up where we left off, talked a lot, and I got to know two wonderful people in Marietta and István.

After the first Swiss Furmint February

This Sunday, February 1, the first event promoting Furmint took place with the participation of seven Hungarian wine merchants, and of course Marietta and István were there too. “The audience was primarily professional, the masterclass led by Lilla Fülöp was a great experience, and finally, all the merchants living in Switzerland who distribute Hungarian wines were present at the same time with their excellent wines. In the evening, we had dinner at the same table to discuss the events of the day. Jörg Waldthaler, the organizer of the event, did a lot to make this happen, and we are confident that the promotion of Hungarian wines in this form will continue.”

Waiting for the sun, waiting for the spring, let us enjoy some great white wine made of black grape, as a sort of transition from January, the coldest month, to February, the month of carnivals in disguise. Due to TasteHungary.eu you can order it from any European country.

Heumann Winery has always been famous for making brilliant Riesling wines, due the location of their vineyards in the Siklós sub-region of Villány wine region. Here the soil mainly consists of loess with high proportion of limestone. This fairly new white Merlot is made of the same Merlot they use for the red wine, from Városhegy vineyard in Siklós, with 20-year-old vines, with a yield of only 40 hl / hectare. Harvest took place on 22 August.

The grape was destemmed, immediately pressed, and the alcoholic fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks at 16° C. In spite of the practice in the Swiss white Merlot region, Ticino, there was no malolactic fermentation. The wine was kept on fine yeast for 4 months. It was bottled on 5 February, 2025.
Alcohol: 13.5%, acidity: 5.7 g/l, residual sugar: 2.7 g/l.
Tasting note: Pale colour. Intense flavours of red fruit and cassis. Fruity lemon acidity, well integrated in the creamy body. Very spicy, long lasting.

Order it from any European country
More about Heumann Winery

An earlier article about the “normal” red Merlot by Heumann Winery

Heumann Merlot – a wine to keep or enjoy now

Heumann wines are available in several countries, for example in the United Kingdom at Novel Wine. In Belgium at QWine, in Switzerland at Heumann Weine, Cave Gevin, Hunderweinhaus, Le Bouchon Vinothek and at Vinebration.

Cork Croatia tasting of 68 wines from 6 countries

Last month Croatian online wine publication, Cork Croatia held one of the broadest tastings of Kékfrankos / Blaufränkisch / / Frankovka (etc) grape variety. 4 of the 5 Grand Gold winners are Hungarian wines!

The Zagreb tasting is one of the most comprehensive panel tastings of the variety, the 68 wines cover the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, the region where Kékfrankos (as we call it) became significant and acknowledged. The event took place at LuMa Wine & Friends wine bar. Zoltán Győrffy Hungarian wine writer, editor-in-chief of Pécsi Borozó helped recruit samples and participated in the jury.
Tasters:
Dr. Ivan Pejić, mgr. Franjo Francem, Ina Bednar, Jana Koščec, Željko Suhadolnik, Ivan Dropuljić, Siniša Medenica, Ivo Kozarčanin, Tomo Jakopović, Darko Lugarić, Zoltán Győrffy.

The Grand Gold Winners

– Jackfall Kékfrankos (Villány) 2020 (HUN)
– Stier Kékfrankos (Villány) 2021 (HUN)
– Heumann Kékfrankos Reserve (Villány) 2018 (HUN)
– Fyrmonia Kékfrankos – Frankovka Modra 2022 (SVK)
– Thummerer Kékfrankos Superior Válogatás (Eger) 2021 (HUN)
Best of country and gold winner wines are below the photos

105 wines from 10 countries tasted by Tamlyn Currin

As we reported earlier, Tamlyn Currin, the brilliant wine expert at JancisRobinson.com, took part in a cross-border tasting event of Furmint, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) and Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) wines, held in the Slovenian village of Kog. Today, let us introduce two of the highest scored Hungarian Kékfrankos wines made by Heimann and Heumann.

The event was organized by the Kog 25 Pannonia association, which consists of local winemakers and an Irish couple who are wine merchants and cultivate a small area of land in Slovenia. The blind tasting included a workshop dedicated to each variety.

Read the whole article (subscription is needed, but it is worth it)

Thanks for not overoaking!

The finest examples of this variety are still produced in Austria, but Tamlyn Currin pointed out that Hungarian Kékfrankos wines are also shining brightly thanks to the fact that winemakers no longer insist on heavy oak ageing. Altogether 35 Kékfrankos (or Blaufränkisch, Lemberger, Frankovka etc.) were tasted. The highest score was 18 points, achieved by an Austrian and a Slovenian wine. Seven wines received 17.5 points: one Croatian, five Austrian, and half-Hungarian (and half Austrian), Franz Weninger’s 2021 Balf Kéfrankos. Among the 8 wines with 17 points, there are more Hungarian wines, one Vida, one Heumann, one Heimann & Fiai wine, and Frigyes Bott (Slovakia), also considered Hungarian, receiving this score.

 

Heimann or Heumann?
If you think that these surnames sound German, you are right. Heimann family is of Swabian origin living in Szekszárd, while Erhard Heumann is a German gentleman living in Villány with his Swiss wife.

Heimann & Fiai Szívem Kékfrankos 2020, Szekszárd (17/20 pts)

Tamlyn Currin’s wine review:
Cherry sherbet and raspberries. Very fine tannins. Unusual. Lots of white pepper. Zigzag energy, crackling with energy. Super-grippy tannins but they’re not drying. Fine and high-wired, long and very fragrant.
Drink: 2024 – 2030
More about Heimann & Fiai wines

Heumann Reserve Kékfrankos 2020, Villány (17/20 pts)

Tamlyn Currin’s wine review:
Bitter chocolate and a tangle of wild herbs. Fennel and caraway, black fruit. Tannins underscoring the fruit, and then strikethrough. Just like that. The fruit steps back in shock and then, resilient, comes back forward trailing bitter spices. Complex and stubborn. Very savoury. Peppery from mid palate to the end. Sculpted.
Drink: 2025 – 2032
More about Heumann wines

A comprehensive Cabernet Franc panel tasting

The Swiss Vinum print magazine has recently tasted not less, but 105 varietal Cabernet Franc wines from 12 countries. Francs from Argentina, Austria, Chile, Greece, France, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa and Spain competed in the blind tasting, and 9 of them achieved the highest scores, 94 points: 5 South African, 3 Italian and 1 Hungarian: Heumann La Trinità 2019.
Cover photo: Matterhorn, one of the highest peaks in Switzerland, photo by Pixabay

Vinum panel tasting about the wine

Villány PDO Cabernet Franc
La Trinitá 2019
94 Points | 2026 to 2035
Subtle, quite earthy and spicy fruit with pine cones, a hint of raspberry in the background, plus a hint of redcurrant with fresh almonds, chervil, and some subtle wood spice. A rich, compact style of freshness, strong grape tannins and distinct nuttiness to the aromas on the nose. The slightly citrusy, refreshing acidity balances the power of this exciting, bold style wine.
39 Swiss Francs | heumannwines.com

Heumann wines are available in several countries, for example in the United Kingdom at Novel Wine, in Belgium at QWine, in Switzerland at Heumann Weine, at Hundertweinhaus, Cave Gevin and at Le Bouchon Vinothek and at Vinebration.

Other Hungarian wines among the tasted Cabernet Francs

94 points – 9 wines, 1 Hungarian wine: La Trinità 2019
93 points – 9 wines, 1 Hungarian wine by Havas and Tímár Winery, Eger
92 points – 4 wines, 3 Hungarian wines, 1 by Sauska and 2 by Bock, both from Villány
91 points – 3 wines, 1 Hungarian wine by A. Gere Winery, Villány
90 points – 12 wines, 1 Hungarian wine by Thummerer Winery, Eger
89 points – 9 wines, 1 Hungarian wine by Günzer Tamás Winery, Villány
88 points – 14 wines, 2 Hungarian wines by A. Gere Winery and Jammertal Wine Estate, both from Villány
87 points – 8 wines, 1 Hungarian wine by Ruppert Winery, Villány
86 points – 3 wines, no Hungarian wines
85 points – 3 wines, 2 Hungarian wines by Malatinszky Estate and Lelovits Winery, both from Villány
84 points – 8 wines, 1 Hungarian wine by Villa Tolnai, Badacsony wine region

An earlier great result for Heumann La Trinità 2019

Another 93 points to Heumann La Trinità 2019

And some more about the success of La Trinità 2019

The Glorious March of Heumann La Trinità Continues

On 25, 26, 27 October and 31 October, 1, 2 November

Around 3000 wines will be available to taste from 140 exhibitors at the annual Basel Wine Festival (Weinfestival), this year featuring 7 outstanding producers from our southernmost Villány wine region! Bock, Attile Gere, Koch, Heumann, Sauska, Teleki, Vylyan – a top league, indeed. Are you a Swiss, looking for something unique? Taste our Cabernet Franc, as known as Villányi Franc wines, you will meet a new face of the world-famous international variety. Hundertweinhaus Swiss wine merchant will also exhibit.

Dates: 25, 26, 27 October and 31 October, 1, 2 November
Opening hours: from 13.00 or 15.00 to 19.00 or 21.00, check it here.
Venue: Messe Basel, Halle 2, Switzerland
Ticket: A daily ticket costs 10 CHF, but there are discounts well, click here for more.
Hungarian producers are to be found under the Villány wine marketing team, and its official name is Tenkes Borvidékfejlesztő Nonprofit Kft. Find Hungarian wines on Swiss Hundertweinhaus webshop

Top 12 Villányi Franc of 2024 and the official regulation

Top 12 Villányi Franc 2024

Wines of our cover photo

– Bock Villányi Franc Essencia 2020, read more
– Gere Attila Villányi Franc Ördögárok 2021, read more
– Heumann Villányi Franc La Trinità 2019, read more
– Koch Villányi Cabernet Franc 2021, read more
– Sauska Villányi Franc Makár 2018, read more
– Teleki Inspiráció Villányi Franc Bio 2023, read more
– Vylyan Villányi Franc 2018, read more, and more about Vylyan Vineyard and Winery

By Ágnes Németh

As we wrote earlier, Heumann Winery from Villány has recently released two white wines made of black grapes. Back then we relied on the information received from the winery, but meanwhile I could taste Blue–White, the white Kékfrankos. In the title I quote Michael Jackson, “no matter if it’s black or white”, with reason. Obviously, he was singing about skin colours, while I am speaking about grape skin colours, but I can honestly say that in case of Heumann Winery and Kékfrankos, the colour does not matter, the wine is excellent for sure.

Vince magazine wine review

In the latest issue of Vince wine magazine, Heumann Blue – White ranks among the top of the new releases with 4 stars and 16.20 scores (out of 20). The description is the following: “Light greenish colour with the hue of sunrise. Quite intense nose with white flesh fruits but it also has some red fruit character, mainly with redcurrant notes and a pinch of spices. When tasting, it is full bodied, absolutely rich and juicy with ripened peach, apple and vibrant acidity.”

Tasting note by Adrian van Velsen Swiss wine writer

“Pale rose gold; restrained aroma of grapefruit, red currants, and white flowers; gripping on the palate, juicy, incredible crisp fruit, well balanced acidity, the wine has a fresh and fruity finish. A successful Blanc-de-Noir, where every sip makes you want the next one.” (88 points)

How was is made?

Kékfrankos (in the neighbouring Austria it is called Blaufränkisch) is the most planted black grape of Hungary, an indigenous grape with a potential to give fruit drivel, elegant wines appealing to the wine connoisseurs of today. Just like in case of Merlot Bianco, the other “blanc de noir”, the winery uses the same grape for the white as they use for their top reds. The parcels of Kékfrankos vines are also located in Városhegy vineyard. Harvest took place on 21 August. The grape was destemmed, immediately pressed, and the alcoholic fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks at 16° C, there was no malolactic fermentation. It was bottled on 6 February, 2025.
Alcohol: 13.5%, acidity: 6.1 g/l, residual sugar: 1.7 g/l.
More about Heumann Winery

What can I add?

For me the elegance was that enchanted me right at the beginning. The wine has balance, the “red-wine-ish” tones are so subtle, so restrained, they are somewhere in the background, the result is more of a unique wine with creamy texture, complexity and also lively acidity. Well done! Perfect for a summer evening, we had some cheese and figs with it – it was a majestic feast!

Heumann wines are available in several countries, for example in the United Kingdom at Novel Wine. In Belgium at QWine, in Switzerland at Heumann Weine, Cave Gevin, Hunderweinhaus, Le Bouchon Vinothek and at Vinebration.

A recent article of us about Heumann La Trinità 2019, the Villányi Franc of the estate receiving 93 points from Markus del Monego german Master of Wine

Another 93 points to Heumann La Trinità 2019

Merlot Bianco & Blue-White

The rosé boom has come to a halt, red wine consumption is decreasing – so how can a red dominated wine region survive? Some wineries plant more white varieties, as we have written recently, while Erhard and Evelyne Heumann have come up with a bolder idea: let’s make white wine of what we have! The solution is somehow obvious from a German–Swiss couple, since white Merlot has special importance in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. Apart from Merlot Bianco, the Heumanns have released Blue-White as well, a white wine made of Hungary’s flagship black grape, Kékfrankos. “A successful Blanc-de-Noir, where every sip makes you want the next one.” (Adrian van Velsen)

Heumann Merlot Bianco 2024

Heumann Winery has always been famous for making brilliant Riesling wines, due the location of their vineyards in the Siklós sub-region of Villány wine region. Here the soil mainly consists of loess with high proportion of limestone. The new white Merlot is made of the same Merlot they use for the red wine, from Városhegy vineyard in Siklós, with 20-year-old vines, with a yield of only 40 hl / hectare. Harvest took place on 22 August.
The grape was destemmed, immediately pressed, and the alcoholic fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks at 16° C. In spite of the practice in the Swiss white Merlot region, Ticino, there was no malolactic fermentation. The wine was kept on fine yeast for 4 months. It was bottled on 5 February, 2025.
Alcohol: 13.5%, acidity: 5.7 g/l, residual sugar: 2.7 g/l.
Tasting note: Pale colour. Intense flavours of red fruit and cassis. Fruity lemon acidity, well integrated in the creamy body. Very spicy. Long lasting.

Heumann Blue-White 2024

Kékfrankos (in the neighbouring Austria it is called Blaufränkisch) is the most planted black grape of Hungary, an indigenous grape with a potential to give fruit drivel, elegant wines appealing to the wine connoisseurs of today. Just like in case of Merlot Bianco, the winery uses the same grape for the white as they use for the red Kékfrankos.
The parcels of Kékfrankos vines are also located in Városhegy vineyard. Harvest took place on 21 August.
As in case of Merlot Bianco, the grape was destemmed, immediately pressed, and the alcoholic fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks at 16° C, there was no malolactic fermentation. It was bottled on 6 February, 2025.
Alcohol: 13.5%, acidity: 6.1 g/l, residual sugar: 1.7 g/l.
Tasting note by Adrian van Velsen Swiss wine writer:
“Pale rose gold; restrained aroma of grapefruit, red currants, and white flowers; gripping on the palate, juicy, incredible crisp fruit, well balanced acidity, the wine has a fresh and fruity finish. A successful Blanc-de-Noir, where every sip makes you want the next one. (88 points)”

More about Heumann Winery