The best selling wine of the year 2018 at Heinemann Duty Free store at Budapest Airport was a late harvest Tokaj wine from Patricius Wine House. This is a great message to the world: it means yes, sweet Tokaj wines are not only for Christmas, sweet Tokaj can be trendy and an attractive gift, and also a delicious memory to be taken home, to recall the days spent in Hungary.

Late harvest – an ideal category

Tourists cannot leave Budapest without buying a souvenir wine, and since hand luggage may not contain liquid, Hungarian citizens also prefer buying wine at Heinemann Duty Free store. The shop has a wide selection of Hungarian wines, different Tokaji Aszú wines, precious red wines and the traditional Hungarian spirit, pálinka is also on display. A late harvest Tokaj wine must have a lower price than a Tokaji Aszú, though a great late harvest has all the merits of botrytis and Tokaj terroir. Katinka (’Little Katie’) had two different vintages on sale in 2018, but thanks to the vineyards, the wines of two vintages (2016 and 2017) are fairly equal. The soil is volcanic and rich of minerals, and harvest took place in both years in November. There is a slight difference of the blend: in 2016 Katinka was made of Furmint, Yellow Muscat and Zéta while in ’17 Zéta was replaced by ’Kövérszőlő’. Fermentation took place in stainless steel in both years, maturation took 4 months in both cases in 220 oak, however in ’17 only 45% of the wine was matured in oak. Residual sugar is almost the same (133 and 129 g/l), and there is a minor change of acidity (9.3 and 7.4 g/l).

No recipe, just balance

Ádám Geri, sales and marketing manager of Patricius Wine House says that the success of Katinka sends a positive message about Hungary and Tokaj. As he revealed, Katinka does not have a strict recipe, the winemaker tries to achieve balance every year – and the sales records of the two different vintages within the same year prove their wisdom.
Ádám adds that unique packaging has a significant role in their success. Katinka was packed in an attractive paper cover specially made for Heinemann Duty Free in limited edition.

So if you travel to Budapest for the next time, don’t miss this „little lady” with unforgettable pleasures: „A reference point among the late harvest wines of the Tokaj Wine Region. Selected bunches containing healthy, over-ripened and partly botrytized berries which were picked during the late autumn harvest. The characteristic varietal notes of Furmint and Yellow Muscat form the foundation of this wine, braced by minerality and zippy acidity for great balance and topped off with an incredibly long finish and creaminess.”