Wine list for every palate

Gléda is a fairly new restaurant in the hilly Buda side of the Hungarian capital, yet with its style it recalls the era of the early 20th century. The team led by János Deli has made Gléda a popular place of the locals, and part of the success is definitely due to the great wine selection they offer. They also offer the so called Wine of the House in each category, and unlike in case of many other restaurants, the Wine of the House is not a mediocre wine bought in bulk, but great, high quality wines – like the Sparkling Wine of the House, which is Béres Tokaji Méthode Traditionnelle Brut, a stunning sparkling made of 100% Hárslevelű. The dry and sweet Wines of the House are also provided by Béres Vineyards in Erdőbénye, Tokaj

Wine list for every palate

“I am your host and I would not feel like a man if I could not make the world a better place and if I could not make your day a better day.” Isn’t it beautiful? It is a quotation from the philosophy of János Deli, co-owner of Gléda. Wine is an important part of this philosophy therefore the team constantly visits the Hungarian vineyards to establish personal relationship with the winemakers and to have a better knowledge of the wines. The wine list is not very long, but quite complex, it contains some Champagnes (Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier, Ayala), some big names like the Italian Gaja, and there are some Chablis wines, some Sancerre – a whole WSET course can be conducted. The main focus is on Hungarian wines, just to mention a few: the unique Rózsakő variety from Borbély Family Winery (Badacsony), Tornai Aranyhegy Juhfark (Somló) and Babarczi Merlot (Pannonhalma).

See the full wine list (the old Béres vintages are gone, but there are others)

Vibrant and ethereal

Once upon a time Tokaj was famous only for sweet wines – the noble Tokaji Aszú and its little brother called Tokaji Szamorodni. The “wine of the kings and king of the wines” saying also refers to Tokaji Aszú, since it has been the most important export product of the region for centuries. It was around the years 2000 when dry Tokaj wines appeared – by now all Tokaj estate has at least a few varietal or blended dry wines. And then, about 10 years ago producers realized that Tokaj grapes have the potential to give great bottle fermented sparkling wines, however, while most estates use Furmint or a blend of Furmint and other varieties, Béres Vineyards has chosen the more fragrant Hárslevelű.
The grapes were whole-cluster pressed and the wine aged 36 months on lees. It is a brut sparkling wine with a very little dosage: only 5 grammes of expedition liqueur were added at disgorgement. “Extremely vibrant, lively, and vibrating, yet full and elegant sparkling wine made from 100% Hárslevelű. Dry, fresh, yet with a very rich palate with hints of apple, pear, peach, citrus, and rhubarb with a strong minerality that lingers in the finish along with grapefruit-like citrusy and tart green apple characteristics.”

The website of Béres Vineyards has recently been renewed, now it is available in English and we can find plenty of information about the wines including the characteristic of each vintage.

Béres Vineyards website
Have you not heard of Hárslevelű variety?

Check it out in our Grape Dictionary

Grape Varieties

Our earlier article about Gléda

The ’lovechild’ of two obsessed restaurateurs