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 could be 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 n 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, so this 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

Tamás Borbély, Borbély Family Winery, Badacsony

Harvest 2024 was unusual due to the early ripening. In Badacsony wine region we started picking one month earlier than normally, at the beginning of August. The hot and dry summer was challenging, but with thoughtful planning of the harvest serious quality musts of great flavours arrived in our vats and barrels. Now we are working hard to present the fresh, new vintage wines as soon as possible.
The quantity of the crop was less in our estate – just like in the whole country –, however, the quality is great, on some cases outstanding.

More about Borbély Family Winery

Ákos Kamocsay, Fehérvári Wine Estate, Somló

This harvest was the earliest ever, regarding both the beginning and the finish. Due to the hot and dry summer, the sugar level rose quickly, and acidity disappeared rapidly. For the sparkling wine base wine, we picked the grapes in the middle of July with ideal qualities. After that practically everything ripened at the same time. As for the aromatic varieties, in some cases we lost some of the intense aromas, but with the other varieties we managed to pick perfectly ripened grapes. All in all, it was a very early and very quick, but good harvest.
More about Fehérvári Wine Estate

Andrea Gere, Gere A Winery, Villány

The estate gives a detailed vintage report every year, here are some excerpts: “Due to the intense ripening, this year’s harvest started on the 1st of August, 2-3 weeks earlier than in previous years. There were no breaks between picking the raw material for the white, rosé and light red wines, so we had a continuous and dynamic harvest. In keeping with tradition, we finished the harvest on 26 September with grapes for the full-bodied red wines.
The warm summer weather concentrated the grapes, the musts were very ripe and a serious, characterful base is now developing in the cellar. When we asked our winemaker, Csillag Bankó, about her favourite grape of the year, she replied: “Every year a different grape is my favourite. This year my favourite is Cabernet Sauvignon. We harvested beautiful grapes at full ripeness and the measurements showed excellent parameters. But what really tipped the scales was how delicious it was.” All in all, we had a fast and intense season and the dynamics of the harvest reflected this. The quality and quantity of the harvest were in line with our expectations. The 2024 vintage will certainly offer wine lovers beautiful, full-bodied wines.
Read full vintage report by Gere A Winery

László Romsics, Csányi Winery (Teleki Wines), Villány

Regarding the quantity, on average the crop is 10-20% less than normally, mainly due to the drought. However, the quality is above the average, especially in case of black grapes. Outstanding red wines will be released from the vintage 2024.
More about Csányi Winery / Teleki Wines