Cold duck liver terrine, quince, sea buckthorn, almond brioche. Wild boar tenderloin, Hokkaido pumpkin, chestnut. Lamb in red wine, truffle mashed potatoes, roasted autumn vegetables. Autumn has arrived at the menu of A.Gere restaurant in Villány, it is high time to try it!

A.– a letter with a family story

The winery founded by Attila Gere now bears the name A.Gere, signifying the handover: Attila still enjoys tasting the grapes before the harvest, but today the winery is run by his daughter, Andrea, and her husband, Kristóf Csizmadia. The younger generation is actively responding to the challenges of the 21st century, whilst also placing great emphasis on preserving their Swabian roots, which is reflected in the interior design and cuisine of the renewed restaurant (we wrote here about the renewal).

15 wineries await at Tornai Winery

The 11th edition of ‘Juhfark Ünnep ‘ (‘Juhfark Celebration’) will take place again at Tornai, the winery celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Tickets are available at early bird price until the end of September. Let us celebrate the fruit of this unique volcanic terroir!

“The only way I can describe it is that this is a grape born angry. Tasting Juhfark for the first time is like meeting a little Celtic warrior, stone spear and rough pewter blade thrust in your face with the smell of woad and clay and rain and cold and sulphur up your nostrils.”
Tamlyn Currin wine writer, JancisRobinson.com
Read more about Juhfark grape variety below

Date and time: 17 October 2026, 11.00–20.00
Venue: Tornai Winery, Somló
How to get to Somló? By car it takes about 2 hours via M7. By public transport it takes much longer, 3.5 hours, including a longer walk. Free transfer is available from the town of Devecser, to avoid the long walk, but prior registration is needed via email until the 10th of October.
Tickets: 13 900 HUF (until the end of September)
The ticket includes the tasting of 31 wines from 15 wineries and some wine bites (pita, cheese, olives, fried nuts)
Get your ticket here (in Hungarian, but google can help)
Cellar tour is also available at 4.30 pm, the 60-minute cellar walk includes tasting from the barrel and costs 2900 HUF, get your ticket here (in Hungarian…)
Exhibiting wineries: 5 Ház, Baráth, Barcza, Csordás-Fodor, Fehérvári, Fekete, Hegedűs-Szabó, Kabor, Kancellár, Kolonics, Kőfejtő, Kreinbacher, Somlói Vándor, Szalai, Tornai
More information (in Hungarian)
You can also contact Hungarianwines.eu, we are here to help you.

Juhfark, the sheep’s tail

Juhfark takes its name from the sheep’s tail, as the long cylindrical shape of the bunches resemble the sheep’s tail. It is often cited as the ‘wines of the wedding-night’, since it was believed to help when a couple had been longing for a son. (The myth is debunked, see below.)
Juhfark is grown almost exclusively in the small volcanic hill of Somló, a small amount in Balatonfüred.
Rather neutral, restrained nose with some flowers and green apples. High, sometimes brutal acidity. It is really difficult to tame this variety, but there are amazing examples of it in history! If you are not afraid of straightforward acidity, take a chance on it. In Somló, the minerality paired with high acidity results some outstanding wines with great ageing potential.

Read Eric Danch’s (Danch & Granger Selection, US) about his Somló tour and about his Juhfark experiences

The myth is debunked, but Juhfark is forever!

Love & Juhfark

Our earlier article about the new release Tornai Orange Wine made of Hárslevelű

New release orange wine from Somló

Get one of the wine packages and help the visually impaired artisans

10 ladies from Tokaj wine region have started the 5th ‘Mosolybor’ (meaning ‘Smile-wine’) project. The bid has just started on a Facebook page, the bidding is going on. Join them to get one of the two Tokaj wine packages of 13-13 bottles, including some rarities. An “experience package” is also available to bid on, along with a basket of craft products made by visually impaired people.
See the content of Mosolybor wine package #1 (in the cover photo) below

How to bid?

– Join the Facebook group here.
– Choose the package you want.
– Check the comments to see the most recent bid with the highest price.
– Add at least 10 000 HUF.
– Mosolybor wine package #1 starting price was 80 000 HUF and now it at 250 000 HUF
(The estimated value of the package is 200 000 HUF. 200 000 HUF is approximately 550 EUR).
– The bid ends on 30 September at 8 pm.
– The winner transfers the price of the chosen package to Búzavirág Foundation (see more below), and then he or she can collect the chosen package in Tokaj. Shipment can be arranged.

The wines of Mosolybor wine package #1 (in the cover photo)

 

• Adrienne Deluxe
  • Furmint Brut Pezsgő 2021 (bottle fermented sparkling wine)
• Árvay Family Winery
  • Tokaji 6 puttonyos aszú 2013
  • Tokaji Isten-hegy Furmint 2021
• Demetervin
  • Tokaji sweet szamorodni 2018
  • Mád Max 2020
• Palkó Wines
  • Tokaji 6 puttonyos aszú 2019
  • Klasszik 2016 (száraz fordítás)
• Rózsa Winery
  • Tokjai sweet szamorodni 2021
  • “Együtt” dry Furmint 2024
• Szepsy
  • Tokaji 6 puttonyos Aszú 2019
  • Tokaji Úrágya Furmint 2018
• Zsirai Pincészet
  • One&Only No. 2
  • Tokaji Aszú 2022

Cornflowers in the field of wheat – Búzavirág Foundation

 

The 10 ladies choose a different charity target every year, and this year it is ‘Búzavirág’ (‘Cornflower’) foundation, which provides independent housing and meaningful employment for people who have grown up without families, have reduced working capacity, or are visually impaired. In their craft workshops, the residents use traditional folk techniques to make unique woven baskets, rugs and Sárospatak-style ceramics, whilst their own market garden ensures sustainability and a daily supply of fruit and vegetables.

“In March, we visited Vámosújfalu in person to meet the foundation’s director, Márta Németh. I was captivated by the professional humility and love with which she guides the residents’ meaningful daily lives. They are the colourful cornflowers amidst the daily hustle and bustle of the wheat fields; our mission is to support them through the power of Tokaj wines. I particularly liked the fact that, during the summer camps for children and throughout the year for school classes and groups, they offer opportunities to do crafts alongside artisans living with disabilities, where participants not only create wonderful treasures but also learn about cooperation and acceptance through play.”

 

The 10 ladies in alphabetical order:
Angelika Árvay (Árvay Family Winery), Marianna Bodnár (Kalina Cooperage), Edit Kulcsúr (Demetervin), Viktória Halász (Halász Confectionery), Dr. Gabriella Mészáros (DipWSET, wine writer, Borkalauz), Gabriella Palkó (Palkó Wines), Melinda Rózsáné Szloboda (Rózsa Winery), Gabriella Szepsy (Szepsy Winery), Adrienn Tóbiás (Adrienne Deluxe), Kata Zsirai (Zsirai Winery)

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.

The 5th edition of Winelovers Wine Awards in June was a record again with 1,161 entries from 15 countries. The award ceremony is coming closer, it will take place on 26 September in Budapest, and we talked to the representative of one of the most successful wineries, Feind Winery from Balatonfüred–Csopak wine region. Andrea Sajó, commercial director of Feind told us which wine they are most proud of.

Feind wines are available in several countries, for example in the US by Credo Imports and in Denmark by PaTrioVin. If you are interested in their wines, contact Andrea Sajó.

How did you hear about the Winelovers Wine Awards and why did you decide to enter?
We have been entering this competition for a while, the feedback of the serious professional jury of the WWA is very important to us. International competitions are generally important to us, which is why we regularly enter the Decanter World Wine Awards and the Berliner Wine Trophy, but we are also always present at the Hungarian National Wine Competition.

The laziest Sunday lunch is actually a dinner. Why not getting up late, having breakfast in bed (with sparkling wine, of course), and enjoy a relaxed dinner with a special twist? Caviar & Bull offers several degustation menus, one of them features plates from around the world, and they actually take us to the remote places. The first stop is obviously Budapest and foie gras.
Text: Ágnes Németh
Photos: Caviar & Bull (except when marked differently)

Plus: There will be a Bock wine dinner on 25 September with wines from the previous century! More about the wine dinner

The best way to survive: decrease prices

The best way at least for us, restaurant goers. Life is not easy, Hungary has a new government, but after the mindless waste of money of the previous regime, it will take time to recover economy. Several restaurants have closed or reduced the number of opening hours, or in more cases, the opening days. Caviar & Bull is open every day for dinner (from 5 pm to 11 pm), and their recent news is that they have lowered the prices.

Oak aged Chardonnay from Pannonhalma

The cover photo was taken by the Michelin recommended Hoppá Bistro in Budapest, see more below. Sirius from Babarczi Vineyard and Winery in Pannonhalma is a 100% Chardonnay with gentle oak ageing and a wine abundant in juicy white fruit notes.

Sirius, the brightest star

The Babarczi family loves Latin names, just look at their top red wines: Marianum (Cabernet Franc) and Aeternum (Bordeaux blend). Sirius refers to the brightest star in the sky, and though the word comes from Greek, Sirius is closer to the Latin spelling. “Sirius is gradually moving closer to the Solar System and it is expected to increase in brightness.” Just as Babarczi Sirius is expected to be even brighter with time. “Pale straw-yellow in colour with silver reflections. A beguiling nose of luscious, ripe fruit – pear, mango and melon, a hint of citrus and sweet floral aromas – honeysuckle and acacia – with fresh vegetative notes of hay. Undertones of new wooden barrels. Full in taste, with nicely rounded acids, it fulfills the promise of the aroma – melon, hay and lime minerality with a longer than average finish.”
More about Babarczi Vineyard and Winery

Plus: some stunning harvest photos

As János Frittmann of Frittmann Winery commented in a recent interview, 2026 is probably the worst vintage in the past 50 years regarding quantity. As for quality, what is left, seems to be great and healthy, as the photos taken by the Frittmanns prove it (see photos below). Meet them in the city of Szeged, on 16–20 September, in the picturesque Dóm square!

Miserable and blessed times

Spring frost and hail, summer draught and the spreading disease called ‘grapevine flavescence dorée’ all add up to make winemakers’ life miserable. János Frittmann, who happens to be the president of the Hungarian National Council of the Wine Communities, claims that the crops of vintage 2026 is the worst in the past 40-50 years, especially in Kunság wine region, where the spring frost destroyed 50% of even more of the grapes in some places. Not to mention the decrease of consumption.
Yet, life goes on, the ripened grape has to be picked, there is no time to cry over the spilt milk – and though the quantity is behind the expected, the quality is great with healthy, beautiful bunches in the vineyard and by now mostly in the press and the vats. Frittmann team started this years’ harvest in the middle of August and it still goes on.

Vella Terra will have its 12th edition in Madrid with 89 artisan winemakers from 13 countries. Hungary will be represented by an amazing cellar called Csetvei, named after the founder, Krisztina Csetvei, who will pour the wines personally. Taste the “foxy” wines from Mór, a tiny Hungarian wine region!

Date and time: 26 October 2026, from 12.00 to 20.00
Venue: Próxima Estacíón event venue, C. de Aniceto Marinas, 10, Moncloa, Madrid
Tickets cost 25 EUR / person, and they include a tasting glass. Visitors will have the chance to buy directly from the exhibitors.
Exhibitors: Most of them (27) come from Spain, obviously, but Austria, Chile, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia will also be represented.
More information

Vella Terra credo:

“At Vella Terra, we value every winegrower committed to producing wine with the lowest possible level of intervention, and we stand against fake natural wine. We are the only natural wine fair in Spain, and one of the very few in Europe, that requires wine analyses from every exhibitor. We travel to visit wineries and follow one of the strictest participation criteria among natural wine fairs. We believe that until there is clear labelling within the wine sector, and as long as fake natural wine can still be easily sold on the market, those of us who organise fairs like this have a responsibility to provide clarity for the end consumer.”