Franc & Franc weekend in Villány

Cabernet Franc has found its natural home in Villány, and an important knowledge hub has also found its home in Villány, the so-called Franc & Franc Forum and Tasting Day. Now the Villány team has decided to organise the international conference with Cabernet Franc wine regions of the world in every second year – to create an even better and more fruitful event –, and in the other years Franc & Franc focuses on Villány. This year the Villány-focus version will take place. For the masterclass, only 24 tickets are available!
The opening photo features the Top 12 of last year

What happens?

20 November

– 17.00 Masterclass with the Top 12 Villányi Franc wines of 2025
Venue: Bock Winery, Villány
Speaker: András Horkay DipWSET wine expert, the “voice of Villány”
– 19.00 Welcome dinner
Venue: Grandior Wine Bistro, Günzer Tamás Winery, Villány
A limited number of professionals can participate free of charge. If you are a wine professional and interested, contact the organisers here.
A limited number of tickets are available for wine enthusiasts, the price is 23 990 HUF. At the moment only 24 tickets are available!
Buy your ticket here. In Hungarian, but google can help.
Tickets include the masterclass and the welcome dinner with a welcome drink (additional drink consumption is to be paid individually).
Translation will not be provided.

These were the Top 12 wines last year:

Top 12 Cabernet Franc from Villány in 2025

21 November

– Tasting Day
Only 9 tickets are available!
– Starting from 8.30, participants visit 5 wineries, and at each winery there will be several representatives of other wineries.
– Altogether 60 wineries will pour their Cabernet Franc wines.
Venue of registration and starting the tour: Polgár Winery
Other venues:
– Bock Winery
– Vylyan Vineyard and Winery
– A.Gere Winery
– Vinatus Winery
– Sauska
Tickets cost 39 900 HUF, and tickets include
– the tasting of all the wines,
– transfer between the venues,
– wine bites at each place,
– lunch,
– tasting glass,
– tasting booklet,
Get your tickets here, in Hungarian, but google can help.

Sauska, Vesztergombi, Teleki, Tóth Ferenc, Garamvári

Altogether 1032 medals were given at this session of the German international wine contest, out of which 96 medals are for Hungarian wines. There are 10 grand gold, 78 gold and 8 silver medals. Let us highlight some gold medal winner wines and reveal some statistics.
More about Berliner Wine Trophy

Statistics: medal chart

1. Germany with 233 medals
2. Italy with 193 medals
3. Spain with 111 medals
4. Hungary with 96 medals
5. France with 70 medals

Heumann La Trinità Platinum, Kővilla Syrah Top Value Gold

As Gosia Young, wine writer of the British Decanter magazine writes in her article, “…the real thrill of the world’s largest wine competition lies in its margins: the grape you can’t pronounce, the region you couldn’t place on a map, the style nobody expected to triumph.” These 5 surprises are 1. red wine from Hungary, 2. Brazil as a wine country, 3. Žilavka white variety from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 4. orange wines from “the Caucasus to the Pacific Northwest” and 5. Pico wine region in the Portugal Azores.

This year nearly 17,000 wines were judged blind from 58 countries at Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). See all 2026 results here.

Excerpt from Gosia Young’s recent article (published on 21 August)

Hungary’s hue of red
Hungary is a country that many oenophiles file under sweet wine, and with reason: the honeyed Tokaji Aszú remains one of the world’s great dessert wines and it duly delivered the country a Best in Show this year. But the more surprising story was a red.
For the first time, Hungary earned a Platinum for a red wine: Heumann’s La Trinità, Villány 2019, a 100% Cabernet Franc, part of a banner haul of eight Platinums, up from three last year. It was a wine that turned heads in the judging room.
Dr Caroline Gilby, a Master of Wine who has followed Central and Eastern Europe for decades and was the Regional Chair for the Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Croatia & Slovenia this year, picked out ‘a superb Hungarian Cabernet Franc’ among her personal highlights of the competition. A grape most drinkers associate with the Loire and Bordeaux is finding a second home on the Pannonian plain.

Heumann, La Trinità, Villány, Dél-Pannónia 2019

Platinum, 97 points
Distinctive red cherries and raspberries sit alongside attractive herbal notes, adding layers of complexity. Judicious oak gives structure and depth, with shapely tannins and juicy acidity bringing vibrance. Ageing beautifully, with more to come.
Available in the UK at Novel Wines

Teleki Kővilla, Syrah, Villány, Dél-Pannónia 2024

Top Value Gold, 95 points
Spicy blackcurrant, smoky blueberry and damson are lent extra complexity with violet florals and a minty zing. Fulsome and firm, concentrated and impressively long.
Not available in the UK yet, if interested, contact the export manager

More about Heumann Winery
More about Teleki Wines

The French châteaux are majestic, the Spanish bodegas are romantic, while the Hungarian underground cellar labyrinths tell tales about history. What’s more, they are really nice places to hang around during heatwaves. Let us invite you to 7 stunning Hungarian cellars, where – besides high quality, gorgeous wines – you can see wonders underground.

 

Chic in the cellar – Kovács Nimród Winery, Eger

“Carved in stone and elegantly furnished, our facility will meet the highest expectations of our most discerning visitors.”And it is true, proved among others by 5.0 evaluation on Tripadvisor. The winery is located in the historic Verőszala street, which is actually a line of cellars in the outskirts of Eger, the most visited city after Budapest in Hungary. The estate offers 5 different tastings from 5600 HUF to 19 500 HUF / person, and can accept up to 80 people. And even a stylish wine dinner is available, as it is featured in the second photo.

More about the winery visit
Contact

Decanter gold medal for Kővilla Syrah 2024 Villány

Every gentleman is happy to hear the expression in the title, but a winemaker is even happier, reading it on the website of Decanter World Wine Awards. The annual grandiose wine competition results were published a month ago, but we still have some great acknowledgements to publish – like the gold medal and 95 points for this Syrah from Villány wine region. Hungary received 15 gold medals and 144 medals altogether.

Decanter tasting notes:

“Spicy blackcurrant, smoky blueberry and damson are lent extra complexity with violet florals and a minty zing. Fulsome and firm, concentrated and impressively long.”
See full Decanter fact sheet of the wine
Csányi Winery, the producer of Kővilla Syrah won a bronze medal (87 points) as well with Teleki Inspiráció Bio Villányi Franc 2023.

Syrah from the “Valley of Tears”

The story of Jammertal
This famous grapegrowing place presumably got its name after the Battle of Szársomlyó in 1687. According to legend, even weeks after the imperial army’s victory, the cries of the wounded Turks could still be heard echoing from the mountains (Jammertal is a German / Swabian word meaning Valley of Tears). Teleki cultivates 9 hectares of Syrah here with medium high cordon training, 5,435 vines per hectare. Additionally, there are 5 hectares of Merlot with Single Guyot training system, 5,435 vines per hectare.

How was Kővilla Syrah made?
The harvest took place on 4 September, 2024. The controlled fermentation in Ganimade-type tank took place within 16 days with punching over three times a day. After pressing, malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tank, and then the wine was racked into new 300-litre oak barrels for 12 months.

Food pairings: Beef stew with red wine garnished with dumplings with sheep cheese, lamb stew, Hungarian layered cabbage casserole, lamb rib seasoned with rosemary, beef cheek confit, matured cheeses.

More about Teleki wines

More than 20 wineries

A. Gere, Bock, Gere Tamás & Zsolt, Jackfall, Koch, Sauska, Teleki and many others will bring their wines to the capital of Hungary, to save wine professionals from a 2.5 hours’ drive. From the light and easy drinking, Portugieser based RedY through the iconic Bordeaux blends to the highly acknowledged Villányi Franc, Villány has a lot to present, not to mention the traditional method sparkling wines and the more and more popular Villány white wines.

Date and time: 28 April 2026, 13.00–18.00
Venue: Castle Garden Bazaar terrace, Budapest
To register write an email to this address, stating your wine professional status.
Wine connoisseurs can also register in limited number.
Exhibiting wineries: Agancsos, Bíbor, Bock, Fontányi, Gere A., Gere Tamás & Zsolt, Jackfall, Jammertal, Koch, Lelovits Tamás, Maczkó Róbert, Matias, Maul Zsolt, Mikeházi, Mokos, Rejiji, Riczu Tamás, Ruppert, Sauska, Streit-Zagonyi, Szemes, Teleki, Vinatus, Wassmann

Read about the top 12 Villányi Franc wines of 2025 here

Top 12 Cabernet Franc from Villány in 2025

The German international wine contest has always been popular among Hungarian winemakers, but this winter edition is the record so far: Hungary ranks 3rd in the medal contest with 178 medals after Italy (337 medals) and Spain (245). Even the organizer Germany has less medals (169). Hungary has collected 8 grand gold, 147 gold and 23 silver medals. Let us introduce some highlights of the award winners.

Wine dinner at a “hunters’ hotel” near Budapest

Hotel Lovasberény is surrounded by woods, no wonder venison and forest fruits are key elements on their menu. On 27 March the restaurant of the hotel awaits wine lovers with 7 courses paired with Teleki wines from Villány. Mundus Vini gold winner Vesper, the flagship wine of the estate will also be served. (A blend of Merlot, Kékfrankos and Syrah.)
Background photo of the cover picture: Pexels / Zhang Kaiyv

“Wild” wine dinner details

Date and time: 27 March, 19.00
Venue: Hotel Lovasberény, 8093 Lovasberény, Erdősor üdülő 1., Hungary (about 45 minutes by car from Budapest)
Price: 33 000 HUF (approximtely 85 EUR)
Speaker: László Romsics, CEO of Csányi Winery, the producer of Teleki Wines
Booking: If you are interested, contact the hotel until 19 March via email or on the phone: +36704362066

More about Teleki Wines

Teleki Wines have collected 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal at the latest edition of Mundus Vini international wine competition.

The medal winners are:

Teleki Tradíció Vesper 2024 – gold
Teleki Inspiráció Malbec 2021 – gold
Teleki Tradíció Malbec 2023– gold
Kővilla Villányi Syrah 2024 – silver

The menu of the wine dinner

– Pheasant liver paté, roasted pepper salad, salty sponge cake
paired with Teleki Tradíció Chardonnay Brut 2021

– Pheasant reduction, string beans, meat terrine
paired with teleki Válogatás Olaszrizling 2024

– Quail breast, leg, fennel, sweet potato
paired with Teleki Válogatás Rosé 2025

– Wild raspberry sorbet, sparling wine, basil
paired with Teleki Válogatás Gyöngyöző Rosé 2025

– Red deer, blackberry, polenta, beetroot
paired with Teleki Malbec 2023

– Fallow deer tenderloin, parsnip, truffle, granny smith
paired with Teleki Tradíció Villányi Vesper 2019

– Black forest cake
paired with Teleki Tradíció Super Premium Villányi Franc 2019

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.”

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.