Pécsi Borozó wine selection announced, tasting on 7 November

Pannon broader wine region includes Villány, Szekszárd, Tolna and Pécs wine regions, and recently the best 25 wines by Pécsi Borozó have been announced. Pécsi Borozó online and print wine magazine is one of the most trustworthy sources for wine enthusiasts in Hungary. This year nearly 40 winery entered 122 wines, and an international jury selected the best ones. The Top25 wines are listed below, and the public will have a chance to taste them all on 7 November in the city of Pécs.

Date and time: 7 November 2026, 14.00 award ceremony, 15.00–19.00 walk-around tasting of the Top25 wines
Venue: Littke Sparkling Factory (event centre), Szent István square 12, Pécs 7621, Hungary
Tickets: 12 900 HUF in advance, 15 900 HUF on the spot
Pécs is the southernmost city of Hungary with mediterranean spirit and climate and amazing places to visit. Plenty of places to stay, great restaurants, bars and more. 2.5 hours by car or by InterCity train from Budapest.

Our cover star: Teleki Tradíció Vesper Cuvée 2024

Grape varieties: This flagship wine of Csányi Winery was made of Merlot, Kékfrankos and Syrah. Each variety was aged separately for 12 months in 300-litre oak barrels. Then the blending took place and the blend rested for a while before bottling. Only 4300 bottles were made.
Tasting notes: A deep, elegant pomegranate colour. Intense, complex nose featuring rich spices, dried forest fruits, and a hint of minty dark chocolate. The palate is full-bodied and richly textured, with notes of plum and blueberry jam, as well as a hint of blackcurrant. Toasty and cocoa powder notes delicately complement the character of the wine. Lively acidity and an exceptionally long finish.
Food pairings: Roasted pork knuckle, beef tenderloin with pepper sauce or red wine sauce, matured beef steak, wild boar or venison stew, dishes seasoned with Indian spices, blue cheese, matured cheeses.
Retail price on the webshop of the winery: 14 999 HUF (approximately 41 EUR)
More about Teleki wines

And now let us reveal this year’s Pécsi Borozó Top25 wines!

Bock – Villányi Franc Makár Selection 2019 (Villány)
Bodri – Tradíció Szekszárdi Bikavér 2024 (Szekszárd)
Csányi – Teleki Tradíció Vesper Cuvée 2024 (Villány)
EGO Wine – Fioretti Cuvée 2025 (Szekszárd)
Eszterbauer – Báró Steiner Bikavér 2024 (Szekszárd)
Eszterbauer – Mesterünk Merlot 2024 (Szekszárd)
Fivérek – Cabernet Franc 2022 (Szekszárd)
Fritsch – Olaszrizling 2025 (Villány)
Gáspár – Mimóza Late Harvest Cirfandli 2023 (Pécs)
Günzer Tamás – GT 50+ Cuvée 2023 (Villány)
Heimann – Baranya Kékfrankos 2021 (Szekszárd)
Heimann – Barbár Cuvée 2021 (Szekszárd)
Hudák Weingarten – Stroke Cuvée 2024 (Pécs)
Lelovits Tamás – Virtus Portugieser Premium 2024 (Villány)
Maul Premium Winery – Dániel Cuvée 2021 (Villány)
Mikeházi – Kékfrankos 2024 (Villány)
Pálinkás – Cabernet Franc Prémium 2022 (Szekszárd)
Pálinkás – Kadarka 2025 (Szekszárd)
Pécs University Wine Estate – Cirfandli 2024 (Pécs)
Rejiji Wines – Hanging Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (Villány)
Rejiji Wines – Villányi Franc 2020 (Villány)
Schieber – Brut 2023 (Szekszárd)
Schieber – Quinta Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (Szekszárd)
Vida Péter – Hidaspetre Kékfrankos 2022 (Szekszárd)
Vinatus – Syrah 2023 (Villány)

Wine Paris is over, we can start preparing for ProWein, the Düsseldorf wine expo, which awaits trade visitors with completely new visuals and several novelties to make business easier. The Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency will present 11 exhibitors.

Location: Hall 3 / C41
Exhibitors: Bock Winery (Villány), Heritage Wines – Cabolo, representing several wineries, among others Vesztergombi Cellar (Szekszárd), Csányi Winery – Teleki Wines (Villány), Kancellár Estate (Somló), Pannonhalma Archabbey (Pannonhalma), Sauska (Tokaj / Villány), Eurobor – Tűzkő Estate (Tolna), Grand Tokaj (Tokaj), Maison aux Pois (Tokaj), St Andrea (Eger), Törley Pezsgőpincészet (Sparkling Winery) (Etyek–Buda).

See them on ProWein website here

During the next weeks we will tell our readers more about the exhibiting wineries, come back soon!

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

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.”

 

Some of our favourite photos and some comments from the winemakers

A Drink Business journalist contacted us to ask for more information about the record harvest in Hungary. As the OIV report states, 2024 vintage produced the smallest global output since 1961. Except for Hungary, celebrating the highest production since 2010! Is that true? No, it isn’t, as we explain it below. But the main objective of this post is to give a picture of this year’s harvest in Hungary through the photos and the words of the people, who are behind the figures. Just look at our cover picture: the creativity of the winemakers is indeed outstanding!

Photos of the cover picture by Csetvei Cellar, Fehérvári Wine Estate, Zsirai Winery

What happened to the numbers?

When the British journalist contacted us, we called a representative of the Council of the National Wine Communities to ask about the reason behind the strange and false positive harvest figure. She checked, the 2024 estimates are correct, but as she spotted out, the figures of the earlier years are incorrect. They are available on the website of the Council here. (In Hungarian, but it is easy to understand, the bottom line is the national wine production.)
However, in the OIV report (page 6) the numbers are different, they are much lower regarding the previous years.
See the OIV report here.
As it turned out from the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, they supplied improper data earlier, while the 2024 estimate is correct, this is why there seems to be an increase though there was not. The head of department explained that they had used the data of the Central Office of Statistics. It is still a mystery why the two offices have so different numbers…
But it is enough of the numbers, let’s see the people behind the figures!

 

Some comments from Hungarian winemakers about the harvest

Kurt István Taschner, Taschner Winery and Sparkling Wine House, Sopron 

I have mixed feelings regarding this vintage, because there are some outstanding wines, but the fermentation of some red wines are rather complicated, actually we are still struggling with one of the red lots, the volatile acidity is too high and we are just guessing the reasons behind.
From grape growing point of view it was a good year with sufficient rainfall – occasionally there was too much, but at least the deeper layers of the soil received rainfall as well. We had to spray 7 times, with that we could protect 98% of the crop, which was healthy, and the quantity was slightly more than last year.
More about Taschner Winery

Importer of the Week: Ewa Hangel, Kociolek i Wino

By Ágnes Németh
It all started with selling cauldrons – the dishes to cook goulash on open fire –, and now Kociolek i Wino sells around 5–6000 bottles of wine a year, about 200 labels along with quality food products and warm dishes. The person behind is Ewa, an always smiling, hard-working, amazing woman. I had the chance to visit the shop and bistro personally on Friday, so this year’s Christmas has started for me on that day.

Some of the labels so far: Barta Winery (Tokaj), Béres Vineyards (Tokaj), Dereszla Winery (Tokaj), Fehérvári Wine Estate (Somló), Szeleshát (Szekszárd), Teleki Wines (Csányi) (Villány), Thummerer Winery (Eger), Tornai Winery (Somló), Tóth Ferenc Winery (Eger), Vesztergombi Cellar (Szekszárd), Zsirai Winery (Tokaj, Somló, Villány)

Kociolek i Wino

Ul. Kajki 68a, Warsaw, Poland
biuro@kociolkowanie.pl
Tel.: +48 517 599 595
Open every day
More information here

The “Cauldron Lady” feeding the neighbourhood

Once upon a time there was a woman happily married, and since her husband was half Hungarian, they decided to sell cauldrons in Poland, just to maintain some relation with the husbands’ father’s home country. The Polish people also like cooking on open fire, but they mostly use a grill, so cauldron was something exciting for them. Ewa must have a natural born marketing talent: she wrote a book of cauldron recipes to boost the sales of the pot. But then the customers started to demand ingredients, spices – just to prepare Hungarian stew and goulash perfectly. Why not?

So, she launched a tiny shop in the outskirts of Warsaw. It did not go well, so Ewa needed her marketing instinct to work again: she started to organize picnics for the neighbouring families. They loved the delicious (and free) food, so the thing became a tradition, more and more people came, they also brought food themselves, so the “community building side effect” was also considerable. And these people did not leave without buying something in the shop. What is more, they wanted more. “I don’t want to wait a month to eat your fabulous goulash, I want to have the opportunity to eat it every day!” – claimed one of the customers. Ewa agreed, of course, so seven years ago a slightly larger shop became available in the same building, this is where she opened the shop and a little covered garden with some tables. And soon I met Ewa for the first time…

127 wine exhibitors in the World Heritage Castle of Buda

A generation gained its first wine tasting experiences at “The Wine Festival”, as it was called at the beginning. It used to be a “must-go” event for winemakers and for all members of the trade. Times change, nowadays the competition of events is high, yet the magnificent scenery and the professional organizers attract thousands of visitors every year. This year the novelty is a luxurious Sunday Branch in the castle terrace, while the guest country is Georgia with is 8000 years’ winemaking legacy.

Date: 12–15 September, 2024
Opening hours: Thursday (12 Sept): 14.00–24.00, Friday: 14.00–1.00, Saturday: 14.00–1.00, Sunday: 14.00–22.00 (Sunday Brunch 11.00–14.00)
Where: on the terraces of the Castle of Buda
How to get there: the easiest way is to walk up the stairs or take bus No16 from Deák square. The Castle Hill Funicular is another, spectacular way to get there!
Tickets: Thursday: 8200 HUF, Friday: 8900 HUF, Saturday: 8900 HUF, Sunday: 6500 HUF
4-day pass: 15 000 HUF / 38 EUR
Sunday branch: 44 000 HUF / 112 EUR
Some of the exhibitors: Bock Winery (Villány), Borbély Family Winery (Badacsony), Dubicz Vineyard and Winery, Fehérvári Wine Estate (Somló), Garamvári Vineyards (Balatonboglár), Gere Attila Winery, Homola – Paloznak (Balatonfüred–Csopak), Lajver Wine House (Szekszárd), Sauska (Tokaj / Villány), Teleki (Villány), Tornai Winery (Somló), Tűzkő Estate (Tolna)
See the full list of exhibitors here
More information

Take a look at the new logo on the label. The letter T is obvious, it stands for Zsigmond Teleki, the world-famous viticulturist who combatted phylloxera, and who founded the winery in 1881. What else? The silhouette of a shield, standing for strength, tradition. And the flowing lines? Is it a footprint? Or the pages of a book? Or piece of a vineyard? You can take your own interpretation. “We always have stories to tell” – claims Teleki team, and we are looking forward to the stories of their wines.

In the footsteps of a great mind

Did you know that Zsigmond Teleki literally saved the vineyards of Villány? In 1881, he established his experimental stockyard in Villány for the purpose of breeding and propagating a rootstock with which the phylloxera-devastated hillsides could be replanted. At the international viticulturist conference in Barcelona in 1930, it was officially acknowledged that the vineyards of Europe had been reconstructed with the help of the experimental varieties by Zsigmond Teleki. His innovative spirit is cherished at Csányi Winery, a state-of-the art estate with the largest production in Villány. The winery also boasts a 1000 metres long cellar, the longest underground labyrinth of the region. Obviously, tradition, historic cellar or modern machinery is not enough to make great wines, but Teleki wines have outstanding vineyards to source grape as well – Csillagvölgy, Kopár, Hársos – just to mention a few. The estate now has released the first wines with the new labels, and the portfolio has also been restructured. The new labels are not only elegant, clear and attractive, but they are several creative solutions as well, for example the label design to be hold in hand! Labels are designed in an unusual, asymmetric way, we need to hold the bottles and turn them, since front and back labels work together. This is how we can understand the stories, the human interactions featured on the bottles.

A fairly detailed article about Teleki Zsigmond